being the longest ever and Kazmir stepped to the mound in the 15th inning. He threw a scoreless frame and the AL all-stars scored the winning run in the bottom of the 15th, making Kazmir the winning pitcher. Kazmir was less effective over the second half of the season, posting a 5–3 record and 4.02 ERA as the Rays won their first American League East championship. In the postseason, Kazmir made 5 starts and went 1–1 with a 4.21 ERA as the Rays won their first AL pennant. But in what was a continuing trend, he could never work very deep into a ballgame, averaging just 5 innings while throwing over 100 pitches per start in the playoffs. Kazmir averaged 4.28 pitches per plate appearance on the season, the highest rate in the majors. "He's an ace as far as his numbers go", Baseball Prospectus wrote, "But he doesn't do many of the other things one expects from an ace. He regularly misses time here and there (in 2008 it was an early-season elbow strain), he's so inefficient that he often hits 100 pitches before he's made it to the fifth inning, and he can become a scheduled strain on the bullpen. Don't get us wrong, he's great, and clearly worth the nearly $40 million he'll receive over the next four years, but he's far from deserving of the "ace" designation." During the season, the Rays and Kazmir agreed on a four-year contract extension which guaranteed the lefty $28.5 million and had a maximum value of approximately $39.5 million if the team picked up his option for the 2012 season. 2009 season Kazmir again started the season on the disabled list with elbow issues and was activated on April 8. He accrued a 4–4 record with an ERA of 7.69 before going on the disabled list again on May 23 to rest a leg strain and to work on problems with his pitching mechanics. He returned on June 27 and went on to have a record of 8–7 with an ERA of 5.92 and 91 strikeouts as of August 28, 2009. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Rest of the 2009 season On August 28, 2009, Kazmir was traded to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for second baseman Sean Rodriguez and minor leaguers Alexander Torres and Matt Sweeney. On his Angels debut, against the Seattle Mariners, he received the loss,