Radke Impresses His Friends

Brad Radke felt right at home.

The Minnesota right-hander, pitching in front of friends and family, struck out a career-high 11 Tuesday night to beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 8-2.

Radke (2-1), who grew up in Tampa, gave up nine hits and walked none.

The Devil Rays scored in the third on Fred McGriff’s two-run double that shortstop Denny Hocking nearly caught in shallow left, but Tampa Bay managed to get only three baserunners into scoring position the rest of the way.

The loss ended a three-game winning streak for Tampa Bay, which is tied for the best start by an expansion team through 12 games. The Toronto Blue Jays were 7-5 in 1977.