Devil Rays 8, Angels 3.
The Rays may have produced their best all-around performance of the year. In doing so, they stretched their winning streak to 1 in a row, matching their fourth longest streak of the season. The Devil Rays now have two shots to pick up a second win against the first place Angels and win their first series since taking two of three from the Dodgers June 22-24. Since that series, the Rays have lost five straight series and are 1-8 in their last nine..

DEVIL RAYS WEBTOPIA...

• BJ Upton was moved up to third in the lineup. [TampaBay.com]
• Al Reyes will come off the DL today and rejoin the team. [DevilRays.com]
• Jon Switzer was optioned to Durham to open a roster spot for Al Reyes. [TBO.com]
• Rocco Baldelli was at the Trop last night and stated that while there is no timetable for his return, he believes that he will return this season. [TBO.com]
• The Yankees have called up Matt DeSalvo to start one game of the double-header on Saturday in Yankee Stadium. The Rays will recall JP Howell for one of the games. Joe Maddon has yet to decide who will start the second game. More likely, they have decided and just don't want us to know for whatever reason. [Courier News]
• Ryan Wilkins lists BJ Upton and Carlos Pena as two of the five players this season that has greatly exceeded 2007 expectations. [MLB.com]

[On Upton] Of course, none of this means he's due for an immediate decline. While it's more likely than not that his average will drop in the second half, Upton features a broad skill-set and impressive wheels -- two factors that not only make him unique, but also allow him to maintain higher BABIPs than the vast majority of players. Conventional wisdom might peg him for an imminent collapse, but a closer look at his profile suggests a more mild decline.

[On Pena]it would be foolish to say that he's a lock to be one of the best players at his position going forward, but at the same time, I'd like to think this breakout is more gold than pyrite. Teams have been impatient with Pena for half a decade; it's about time he made them regret it.

• When his fellow players were asked who the most exciting player in baseball is, Carl Crawford finished tied for the fourth most votes received. [Bradenton Herald]
  
• The Pirates gave the #4 overall draft pick a $2.5 million signing bonus. No word on how, if at all, this will affect the Rays efforts to sign David Price. [SI.com]
• We have read a lot of dumb things on message boards through the years, but this might just be the most idiotic statement ever. [Doberman on the Diamond]

"Geoff Jenkins is better than Carl Crawford, let's just stick with him for now if the best we could get is Crawford." - JoeHova from Brewerfan

• We are sure that Kevin Towers loves his team. And we are sure he would LOVE to have Carl Crawford on the Padres, but acquiring him is a little more difficult than "GO GET CARL CRAWFORD". Also, we love just about everything about C.C., but to say he has a plus arm is like saying John Kruk has sexy hair. [Sneaky Sports]