26-year old righty starting pitcher Matt Garza was electric last night as he tossed the first no-hitter in team history against the Tigers. Garza only walked 1 batter while whiffing 6 as he faced only 27 hitters last night. He threw 120 pitches for the Rays last season of which 80 were strikes. Garza improved to 11-5 with a 4.06 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP this season. The big hit for the Rays came in the sixth inning with the bases loaded and two outs. That’s when Matt Joyce came up and ripped a Grand Slam right inside the right field foul pole. It was nice to see the Rays finally on the right side of a no-hitter since Edwin Jackson, Mark Buerhle and Dallas Braden have done it to them the last two years.

3B Evan Longoria and LF Carl Crawford will be in the starting lineup for the American League as they were voted in by the fans. Longoria will be appearing in his third All-Star Game. He has played in 79 games this season for the Rays and he is 91 of 310 (.294 avg, .868 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 12 homers, 56 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Crawford has been super hot as of late as his numbers look even better than Longoria’s so far. He has played in 77 games for the Rays this year and he is 95 of 297 (.320 avg, .874 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 7 homers, 41 RBIs and 29 stolen bases. This will be Crawford’s 4th All-Star Game. 24-year old lefty starting pitcher David Price was selected for the pitching staff and he could be the starting pitcher in the game. He has started 16 games for the Rays this year and he is 11-4 with a 2.42 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Price has only given up 87 hits in 107 2/3 innings this season as he’s missing quite a few bats. This will be the first All-Star game for Price. The Rays should be well represented by this trio of young stars.

UPDATE: (7/7/2010) - A.L. manager Joe Girardi has selected 30-year old righty reliever Rafael Soriano to replace Mariano Rivera who needs some time off. Soriano has played in 33 games (0 starts) for the Rays this season and he is 2-0 with 23 saves, a 1.65 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP. He has only given up 20 hits in 32 2/3 innings this season as he has been unhittable this year. Soriano deserves this honor and he might be able to effect the outcome of the All-Star Game as he will likely be pitching late.

27-year old righty starting pitcher Jeff Niemann never seems to get any respect just like Rodney Dangerfield. Niemann pitched another great game last night but he was beat 1-0 by Edwin Jackson who he replaced in the starting rotation last season. Niemann has started 15 games for the Rays this season and he is 6-2 with a 2.72 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP as he keeps getting better. Niemann has now pitched in 51 games (47 starts) in his three years with the Rays and he is 21-10 with a 3.59 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. So while the other starters on the Rays get the hype Niemann keeps getting better.

24-year old lefty David Price burst onto the scene during the playoffs and World Series in 2008 when he worked as the Rays’ closer. But he is a starting pitcher so the Rays gave him his big shot in the rotation last season and it did not go as well as planned. Price started 23 games for the Rays in 2009 and he was 10-7 with a 4.42 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. This season Price looks like the pitcher he was advertised to be. He has started 13 games for the Rays this season and he is 10-2 with a 2.31 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He has only given up 70 hits in 85 2/3 innings this season while whiffing 64 batters showing that his stuff has been outstanding. The only blemish so far on Price’s year has been his control as he has walked 35 batters already this season. If he tightens up his control a bit he will be even more dominant which is good news for Rays’ fans.

27-year old righty reliever Andy Sonnanstine is looking good in his new role with the team. He has pitched in 10 games (0 starts) for the Rays this season and he is 0-0 with a 2.51 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. Sonnanstine’s aggressiveness really helps in his new role in the pen. He has only given up 11 hits and he has walked only 2 batters in 14 1/3 innings this year. In his first three years with the Rays, Sonnanstine pitched in 76 games (72 starts) for the Rays in which he was 25-28 with a 5.40 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. The Rays need Sonnanstine to keep up the good work as he is usually the first pitcher in the game when the starter has some trouble.