Hellickson has sick stuff

Right-hander Jeremy Hellickson woke up nauseous and felt worse as Sunday went on, so sick that he threw up once on the mound and several times in the dugout.

But he felt well enough to pitch, and the Rays were better for it as he worked six innings to help the Rays post back-to-back shutouts of the Los Angeles Angels.

"My stuff felt good, and my arm felt good," he said. "That's really all I needed to feel good."

Manager Joe Maddon praised Hellickson for the grit he showed in pitching six innings despite feeling so bad, but Maddon also liked how he pitched, abandoning the cutter he likes more than the coaches do and sticking with his main arsenal of fastball-curveball-changeup.

"It was absolutely wonderful to watch him pitch that way," Maddon said.

Hellickson said the thought never crossed his mind to back out of his start or ask out early. "I just had to do it," he said.

He improved to 6-6 and lowered his ERA to 3.23.

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