Johnson, Devil Rays Enjoy Big Victory

Jason Johnson was sweating at the start. He was reveling when it was over.

Johnson earned his first victory Thursday as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat Texas, 12-5, to become the winningest expansion team in April.

“I was very nervous when the game started, sweaty palms and everything,” Johnson said. “But I settled down after I got out of the first inning. The team did a great job of helping me out.”

Mike Kelly homered twice as Tampa Bay improved to 11-8, beating the old record of 10 victories by the 1977 Toronto Blue Jays and the 1993 Florida Marlins. The Devil Rays still have seven games left in April.

Johnson blanked the Rangers on three singles until leaving in the sixth.

“He showed a lot of heart against a tough-hitting team ,” Tampa Bay Manager Larry Rothschild said. “He really threw the ball well. He had to come out in the sixth inning because his pitch count was getting high.”

Texas Manager Johnny Oates said Johnson “showed us some really good stuff. We had a hard time figuring him out.”

Bobby Smith homered, doubled twice and drove in three runs for Tampa Bay. Kelly, who had his first two-homer game in the majors, and Miguel Cairo also had three RBIs for the Devil Rays.