vote began on July 6 after the initial All-Star lineups were announced. Longoria was reported to have received over 9 million votes out of 47.8 million total votes cast. He won over Jermaine Dye, Jason Giambi, Brian Roberts, and José Guillén. Longoria also took part in the Home Run Derby, the first Ray to ever do so. He was quickly eliminated, hitting only three home runs in the first round, the least of any competitor. The Rays went into the All-Star break with a 7-game losing streak. They had won 7 straight before then. The losing streak caused the Rays to fall to 2nd place in the AL East, but by only half a game behind the Boston Red Sox. Even though the Rays lost the division lead, they still led the Wild Card spot by games. Barely managing a winning record for the month of July at 13–12, the Rays nonetheless went into August with the AL East division lead having an overall record of 63–44. Despite many rumors and reports that the Rays would make a deal before the July 31 trade deadline, the Rays made no trades. Andrew Friedman, Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations for the Rays, commented on the lack of trade activity saying, "At the end of the day we didn't find something that lined up for us. We're in first place on July 31 and we control our own destiny. I feel we have the talent on hand to continue to do what we did the first two-thirds of the season." August The Rays acquired relief pitcher Chad Bradford on August 8 from the Baltimore Orioles for a player to be named later. To make room for Bradford on the roster, relief pitcher Al Reyes, who was the Rays' closer from the 2007 season and had 26 saves in that role, was designated for assignment. On August 9, against the Seattle Mariners, the Rays equaled their franchise record, set in 2004, of 70 wins in a season. The following day, the Rays won again meaning at the season's conclusion, the Rays will have won more games in one season than in any other season in franchise history. The injury bug bit the Rays a few times in August. On August 3, Shortstop Jason Bartlett was hit by a pitch on his right index finger, the result of a failed bunt attempt. Bartlett was