Rays 2, Yankees 1 (Game #39) [23-16]

Six straight wins. Eleven in a row at home. First place in the AL East.
The Tampa Bay Rays realize it’s only mid-May, but they’re having a ball during the best start in franchise history.
“I’ve been around a long time. It’s early, but I love the way we’re doing it by not giving in to anyone,” veteran closer Troy Percival said Tuesday night after Gabe Gross singled with no outs in the 11th inning to drive in the first run Mariano Rivera has allowed all season in a 2-1 victory over the New York Yankees.
“We’re winning close games against good teams,” Percival said. “The way we’re fighting, you can see it’s not a fluke.”
Cliff Floyd began the 11th with a single and pinch-runner Jonny Gomes stole second before Gross delivered the winner up the middle on a 1-1 pitch. Rivera (0-1) had not allowed a run in 14 previous appearances.
J.P. Howell (3-0) pitched two scoreless innings for the win, the Rays’ 15th in 20 games. Tampa Bay matched its longest winning streak of the season at six games and has won a club-record 11 in a row at home.
Even sweeter, they’re a half-game ahead of Boston in the AL East after the Red Sox lost 5-4 at Baltimore. It’s the first time the Rays have sat alone atop the division standings beyond the first week of a season.
“It’s great to be here, and a big part of it is the confidence derived from it,” manager Joe Maddon said, adding that he thinks his young team has the capability of remaining in the race. “Nobody’s cocky or complacent. Everybody’s coming to the ballpark with the right attitude.”
At 23-16, the Rays are seven games over .500 for the first time in the team’s 11 seasons. They’ve finished last nine times in the past decade.
“They’re pitching better. They’re making some plays, and they run,” Rivera said. “They do all the little things. But the most important thing is they’re pitching.”
The Rays were two outs away from victory when Hideki Matsui hit his first homer since April 15, a stretch of 57 at-bats, into the right-field seats off Percival to send it to extra innings.
Even though the closer couldn’t hold the lead, he walked off the mound feeling the Rays were in good shape.
“I was thinking this team has the heart to come back and win,” he said. “Don’t give up another run.”
Eric Hinske drove in Tampa Bay’s first run with a two-out, fourth-inning single off Chien-Ming Wang, who allowed one run and seven hits in seven innings. The Yankees starter walked three and struck out two.
Rays starter Edwin Jackson scattered five hits over seven innings before leaving a 1-0 lead to the bullpen.
“I said before the series, they’re a very good team,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “They’ve improved every year. They’ve worked hard getting people in here, and they’ve done a good job.”
The keys to Tampa Bay’s strong start have been consistent pitching, improved defense and timely hitting, such as Hinske’s RBI single after Carlos Pena led off the bottom of the fourth with the only extra-base hit off Wang.
Matt Garza pitched seven scoreless innings in Monday night’s 7-1 win over the Yankees, and Jackson took up where he left off.
The Yankees threatened in the second, sixth and seventh innings against the Rays starter, but stranded runners at third all three times.
Robinson Cano hit into a force play and Alberto Gonzalez grounded into a double play after Jackson gave up singles to Jason Giambi and Melky Cabrera in the second. Bobby Abreu and Matsui failed to come through after a diving Hinske played what should have been a single to right into Derek Jeter’s one-out triple in the sixth.
Pinch-hitter Shelley Duncan took a third called strike, ending the seventh after Cabrera moved from second base to third on a wild pitch.
“We didn’t have a lot of opportunities,” Girardi said. “But the few that we had, we squandered.”
Xtra, xtra: Attendance was announced as 16,558, up from 13,392 on Monday night. The Rays improved to 3-0 in extra innings. The Yankees are 0-1. Rays OF Rocco Baldelli, on the 60-day disabled list because of a condition that leaves him feeling extremely fatigued after short workouts, took batting practice before the game (Associated Press - Sports).

Rays 7, Yankees 1 (Game #38) [22-16]

Count Derek Jeter among those who are impressed with the improving Tampa Bay Rays.
“They’re playing well,” the New York captain said Monday night after the Rays beat the Yankees 7-1 for their fifth consecutive victory, pulling within a half-game of first-place Boston in the AL East.
“The biggest difference with them is it looks like they’ve got a lot more confidence. You used to play in the past, I’m talking about a few years ago, and it looked like they waited for something to go wrong,” Jeter added. “Now it seems like they have a lot of confidence, and it starts with their pitching.”
Matt Garza pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing five hits, walking one and striking out three while holding the Yankees in check with help from three double plays. Only one baserunner, Alberto Gonzalez in the sixth, reached as far as second base against the right-hander.
Jason Bartlett and Dioner Navarro each drove in two runs for the Rays (22-16), who climbed six games over .500 for the first time in franchise history and also extended their home winning streak to a club-record 10 games.
And they it by beating nemesis Andy Pettitte (3-4), who was 8-1 at Tropicana Field before giving up five runs and eight hits in four innings.
Although the Yankees left-hander still is an impressive 14-4 lifetime against Tampa Bay, the Rays have won two of three matchups against him this season.
“I didn’t think there was a difference on his end,” said Rays designated hitter Jonny Gomes, who had two hits, one RBI and a pair of stolen bases. “I think it was on our end.”
Gonzalez had two of New York’s hits off Garza, who has won two of three starts since returning from a two-week stay on the disabled list with radial nerve irritation in his pitching arm. Jeter, Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera had the others.
“The game plan was to attack,” Garza said. “We went right after them.”
Tampa Bay, coming off a weekend sweep of the Los Angeles Angels, lost its bid for a third shutout in four games in the eighth inning.
Jose Molina doubled, leading off the inning against Gary Glover, and later scored when Johnny Damon grounded to first base.
“Bottom line, we didn’t hit tonight,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “This is a team that if you get ahead of them, they can’t be as aggressive. If you get a lead on them, sometimes you can shut a little bit of that down.”
On a day the Yankees learned they’ll be without Alex Rodriguez for at least another week, Pettitte struggled against a division rival he’s dominated for much of his career, especially at Tropicana Field.
The left-hander had won seven straight decisions in the domed stadium, dating to his only previous loss here on Sept. 16, 1998. The .888 career winning percentage he carried into Monday night was the second-best in the Rays’ home behind Tim Wakefield’s .900 (9-1).
Tampa Bay beat Pettitte 6-3 at Yankee Stadium on April 5, then 10 days later lost to him 5-3 at the Trop.
The Rays sandwiched two bloop singles to center around Jonny Gomes’ first stolen base of the night to take a 1-0 lead in the second. They scored four more in the fourth on Bartlett’s triple and RBI singles by Gomes and Akinori Iwamura.
“It’s just pathetic on my part,” said Pettitte, who has lost three straight decisions over four starts.
“A loss bothers me. I won’t sleep. It doesn’t matter if I got whacked around or had a bad inning,” he added. “I lost the game. I didn’t do my job, and I’m not going to rest real good for the next few days.”
Navarro’s run-scoring single off Chris Britton made it 6-0 in the fifth and ended a streak of 15 consecutive scoreless innings by New York’s bullpen.
Rodriguez, who hasn’t played since April 28 because of a strained right quadriceps, had an MRI exam that showed he’s not ready to rejoin the Yankees for this weekend’s series against the crosstown Mets.
The three-time AL MVP worked out at the Yankees’ minor league complex in Tampa before making the 30-minute trip to St. Petersburg to watch the game from the dugout.
Xtra, xtra: Iwamura extended his hitting streak to 10 games for Tampa Bay. Rays INF Ben Zobrist had the pins removed from his broken left thumb and was activated from the DL after the game. INF Andy Cannizaro was designated for assignment (Associated Press - Sports).

Rays 8, Angels 5 (Game #37) [21-16]

Carl Crawford has played more games for Tampa Bay than any player in team history, so it was fitting that he delivered the blow that lifted the Rays into uncharted territory.
The surging Rays climbed five games over .500 for the first time in the club’s 11 seasons, with Crawford hitting a three-run homer, stealing two bases and scoring twice Sunday to pace an 8-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.
“We feel like we’re going to win every game right now,” the two-time All-Star said after Tampa Bay stopped Ervin Santana from becoming the AL’s first seven-game winner. “We know that’s not possible, but we have the confidence to feel that way.”
Santana departed with a 5-4 lead with one runner on and two outs in the sixth inning, but the game quickly shifted when Justin Speier (0-3) entered and gave up a double to Akinori Iwamura and Crawford’s third homer of the season.
B.J. Upton doubled for the third consecutive hit off the Angels reliever. He took third base on a wild pitch and scored on another wild pitch by Speier, who struggled for the second time in three days against the Rays.
Evan Longoria’s two-run, ninth-inning homer off Speier gave Tampa Bay a 2-0 win in the series opener Friday night. The Rays won by the same score Saturday, holding the Angels to a total of four hits in the two games.
“There’s nothing they did that surprised us,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “They’re a team that has a lot of positive things happening.”
The series sweep left Los Angeles with a four-game losing streak for the first time since April 2007. The Rays (21-16) are five games over .500 for the first time at any point in a season, and it’s the latest they’ve ever been in second place.
Crawford went 3-for-5, raising his batting average to .289. He leads the AL in runs scored (30) and has 12 stolen bases, four in the last four games.
“C.C. still hasn’t taken off yet, but the guy is pretty clutch,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “He’s come up with some big hits for us already in crucial moments, and obviously (the homer) did turn the tide for us.”
Although Santana remained unbeaten, Tampa Bay prevented an Angels starter from becoming the league’s first seven-game winner for the second straight day. Joe Saunders lost for the first time in seven decisions on Saturday.
J.P. Howell (2-0) pitched three scoreless innings in relief of Andy Sonnanstine to get the victory. Troy Percival worked the ninth for his ninth save in 10 opportunities.
Garret Anderson and Torii Hunter drove in two runs apiece for the Angels, who finally showed signs of life on offense. Slumping Vladimir Guerrero went 2-for-4 and drove in a run for just the fourth time in 23 games.
Santana, coming off a four-hit shutout of Kansas City, allowed three runs on four hits in the first six batters Sunday. Floyd, Upton and Longoria had the RBIs for Tampa Bay, which also had been struggling at the plate the past week.
The Angels snapped a streak of 20 consecutive scoreless innings with RBI singles by Guerrero, Anderson and Hunter in the third inning, however Santana quickly fell behind again.
Upton and Carlos Pena singled to start the bottom of the third. Floyd, in his first action since coming off the 15-day disabled list, followed with his second run-scoring single to give Sonnanstine another lead the Tampa Bay starter couldn’t hold.
Anderson’s RBI single and Hunter’s run-scoring triple turned the Angels’ 4-3 deficit into a 5-4 lead and ended Sonnanstine’s afternoon. The Rays starter gave up eight hits, walked two and struck out three.
Santana allowed five runs and eight hits—both season highs—in 5 2-3 innings. He walked one and struck out seven, including the last batter he faced. But with the starter at 113 pitches, Scioscia turned to Speier.
“Put these two loses, Friday and today, on me. I just haven’t made my pitches like I normally could,” Speier said.
“I’ll iron it out. Sometimes, getting into a funk, you try to figure too much out. Sometimes less is more. I’m just going to go out there, continue making pitches and get out of this thing.”
Xtra, xtra: Crawford finished 3-for-5, stole two bases and scored two runs. Rays INF Ben Zobrist will have the pins removed from his broken left thumb on Monday and could be activated during this week’s series against the New York Yankees (Associated Press - Sports).

Rays 2, Angels 0 (Game #36) [20-16]

Strong starting pitching, stellar defense and just enough offense to win close games. After a decade of life at the bottom of the AL East, the Tampa Bay Rays are beginning to get things right.
Scott Kazmir pitched six scoreless innings and the improving Rays beat the suddenly punchless Los Angeles Angels 2-0 on Saturday night to hand Joe Saunders his first loss of the season.
One day after James Shields shut out the Angels 2-0 on a one-hitter, Kazmir (1-1) held them to a single and two doubles in his second start since missing all of April with a left elbow strain suffered during spring training.
Tampa Bay starting pitchers haven’t yielded a run in their last 23 innings. The defense behind them has been outstanding, too, with the Rays committing just one error in the past 16 games to help the team win five of their last six series.
“It’s been fabulous. … We know that we have good arms. We know that we are physically skilled pitching-wise,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said.
“It’s what we’ve been planning to do since spring training, just feed off each other,” Kazmir added. “We’re going to try to keep the momentum going.”
Evan Longoria, who won Friday night’s game with a two-run, ninth-inning homer, drove in the only run off Saunders (6-1) when he grounded into a force play with the bases loaded in the first inning.
Saunders, trying to become the AL’s first seven-game winner, allowed four hits, struck out three and walked a season-high four in six innings. Teammate Ervin Santana (6-0) will put his perfect record on the line against the Rays in Sunday’s series finale.
“They’ve done a good job on the mound, and we’re not swinging the bats and getting enough chances,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “We really only pressured them one inning. Couldn’t get that one hit to fall in.”
Kazmir, the 2007 AL strikeout champion, spent the first five weeks on the disabled list after hurting his elbow throwing a warm-up pitch for an intrasquad game in February. He lasted four innings, allowing four runs and six hits, in a 7-3 loss at Boston last Sunday.
The 24-year-old left-hander walked three and struck out six against the Angels, who have lost three straight and haven’t scored in their last 18 innings.
Trever Miller pitched the seventh, Dan Wheeler worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth and Troy Percival finished up the combined three-hitter for his eighth save.
Tampa Bay won for the 12th time in 17 games and climbed a club-record four games over .500 for just the fourth time in the franchise’s 11 seasons. The Rays (20-16) were 16-12 on May 1; 11-7 on April 23, 1999, and 10-6 on April 19, 1998.
The Rays have also won a frachise-best eight consecutive “home” games, including a three-game series they swept from Toronto at Disney World. Kazmir also became the club’s career wins leader with 36.
“No runs in six innings,” Maddon said. “That’s something good to build off.”
Saunders limited the Rays to singles by Akinori Iwamura, Jason Bartlett and Eric Hinske in the first four innings. Longoria’s bases-loaded grounder to third base drove in Iwamura for the 1-0 lead Tampa Bay held until Carlos Pena’s sacrifice fly off Darren Oliver made it a two-run game in the eighth.
The Angels threatened in the fifth when Sean Rodriguez drew a two-out walk and Gary Matthews doubled into the right-field corner to break an 0-for-11 slide. Kazmir escaped when Erick Aybar grounded to short.
Vladimir Guerrero singled, leading off the sixth, for the third hit off Kazmir. The left-hander got Torii Hunter to hit into a double play and retired Juan Rivera on a grounder to short to end his 108-pitch outing.
The Angels squandered their best opportunity to score after Wheeler walked Reggie Willits and Matthews, then issued an intentional pass to Guerrero to load the bases with one out in the eighth.
Wheeler wiggled out of trouble by getting Hunter to pop out and pinch-hitter Garret Anderson to ground to first.
“We weren’t able to do much in the batter’s box,” Scioscia said, “and they were able to do just enough.”
Xtra, xtra: Rays relievers Al Reyes (right shoulder impingement) and Gary Glover (right shoulder tendinitis) threw bullpen sessions. Reyes is expected to pitch in an extended spring training game on Monday (Associated Press - Sports).

Rays 2, Angels 0 (Game #35) [19-16]

With James Shields pitching the way he is, the Tampa Bay Rays are beginning to believe anything is possible.
Shields pitched a one-hitter and Evan Longoria’s two-run, ninth-inning homer gave the surging Rays a 2-0 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.
The victory was Tampa Bay’s 11th in 16 games and lifted the Rays, who have won four of their last five series, three games over .500 (19-16) this deep into a season for the first time in franchise history.
“Honestly, our guys really have a very good way about them right now. We’re expecting to win on a nightly basis,” manager Joe Maddon said. “We almost feel like if we can keep it close, we’ll be able to do something at the end. Those are good feelings. That’s how you get to play at the end of the year—when you’re able to keep games close and win them at the end somehow.”
The Rays are doing it with improved pitching and defense, as well as timely hitting.
Shields (4-2) rebounded from the second-shortest outing of his career for his second shutout in his past three starts.
The 26-year-old right-hander limited the Angels to Brandon Wood’s one-out single in the third and retired the last 17 batters he faced after hitting Erick Aybar with a pitch in the fourth.
Thanks to some nice plays behind him, including Carl Crawford’s diving catch in the gap to rob Mike Napoli of an extra-base hit in the third, Shields faced just 28 batters—one over the minimum and a Rays record for a complete game.
“Spectacular,” Maddon said. “Just totally in command.”
Angels starter Jon Garland allowed no runs and four hits in eight innings. He walked three and struck out two before being replaced by Justin Speier (0-2), who gave up a leadoff single to B.J. Upton in the ninth.
Carlos Pena, who had two of Tampa Bay’s hits off Garland, grounded to first base, moving Upton to second. Three pitches later, Longoria hit his fourth major league homer into the seats in left-center.
“I think it was just a sinker that he left up,” said Longoria, who thought the ball was going to be caught short of the wall.
“I was pumped,” the rookie added. “I was more pumped for Shields because I hate to see a guy pitch like that and get a loss.”
Shields, who tossed a two-hitter to beat Boston 3-0 at Tropicana Field on April 27, struck out eight and walked none. He allowed seven runs and 10 hits in a 12-4 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park last weekend, throwing 98 pitches in just 3 2-3 innings.
This time, he only needed 70 pitches to get through the first seven innings, limiting the Angels to their only two baserunners of the night.
“He was aggressive early on. He wasn’t messing around,” Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia said.
“I think I was more efficient today,” Shields explained. “My first-pitch strikes were a little better. … When I get ahead in the count early, I can get to my changeup a little quicker.”
Garland allowed three walks and three singles over the same stretch. But only one of the runners got as far as second base, and the Angels helped their starter with a pair of double plays.
The Rays wasted their best opportunity to score off Garland in the eighth, stranding pinch runner Nathan Haynes at third base after Gabe Gross led off the inning with a double to the gap in left.
Garland escaped the jam by getting Jason Bartlett, Akinori Iwamura and Carl Crawford to ground out.
“Unfortunately we didn’t score any runs for Gar,” Speier said. “He pitched a heck of a game.”
Los Angeles, already playing without injured infielders Chone Figgins, Howie Kendrick and Maicer Izturis, lost shortstop Erick Aybar when he was hit by a pitch in the left pinkie finger leading off the fourth inning.
X-rays were negative, and the Angels said Aybar is day-to-day with a bone bruise.
Xtra, xtra: After the game, Rays DH-OF Cliff Floyd (right knee surgery) was activated from the 15-day disabled list. Haynes was designated for assignment (Associated Press - Sports).

Rays 8, Blue Jays 3 (Game #34) [18-16]

An extra-inning grand slam sent the Tampa Bay Rays home feeling good after an nine-game road trip that had its ups and downs.
Dioner Navarro hit a grand slam in the 13th inning after Carl Crawford drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly and the Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-3 Thursday night.
“That’s the kind of game that if you lose, it’s really rather devastating,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “When you win it with this kind of script, it can be something that can catapult you in a positive way. I’m really pleased with the grit of the group tonight.”
The Rays went 4-5 against Baltimore, Boston and Toronto. They were swept in three games by the Red Sox.
Facing Toronto’s seventh pitcher, Shawn Camp (0-1), Jason Bartlett singled off the glove of second baseman Aaron Hill to begin the 13th and went to third on Akinori Iwamura’s base hit. Crawford lifted a sacrifice fly to right and Bartlett artfully skirted catcher Gregg Zaun, who had ranged up the line to catch Alex Rios’ throw.
B.J. Upton singled and Carlos Pena was intentionally walked before Navarro put the game out of reach with his second career grand slam.
“This is big for us,” Navarro said. “We had a bad series in Boston and we came back here. A game like this is going to get us pumped up for the next series back home.”
The Rays open a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night, then host the Yankees for four.
Tampa Bay’s winning rally snapped a streak of 17 consecutive scoreless innings by Toronto’s bullpen, but the real culprits were the Blue Jays’ batters, who squandered several chances, including failing to score Rios after a leadoff triple in the 10th.
“It’s pathetic. We’re a way better club than this,” Zaun fumed. “There’s no excuses. We can talk about it until we’re blue in the face. I’m pretty sick of talking about it. We need to go out there and start getting those runs home.”
J.P. Howell (1-0) worked three scoreless innings for the win as Tampa Bay beat Toronto for the sixth time in seven games. The Rays have won four of their past five series.
The Blue Jays trailed 3-0 after eight but rallied in the ninth against veteran closer Troy Percival.
Scott Rolen led off with a single and Matt Stairs struck out before Vernon Wells hit a two-run homer, his fifth. The runs were the first Percival had allowed after starting his season with 11 scoreless innings.
Lyle Overbay doubled and Hill’s single scored pinch-runner Joe Inglett with the tying run, but Zaun flied out and Percival caught Marco Scutaro looking to send the game to extra innings.
“They took some good at-bats against me,” Percival said. “Hill hit a good pitch. Probably the only good pitch I threw that got hit. It’s just one of those days where they beat me.”
Rays right-hander Edwin Jackson matched a season-high by working eight shutout innings, only to see his effort spoiled in the ninth. Jackson scattered six hits, walked one and struck out three, and has not won since beating Seattle on April 10.
Pena hit a solo homer, his eighth, and former Blue Jays prospect Gabe Gross added a two-run shot for the Rays.
Pena had a closed-door meeting with manager Joe Maddon after striking out three times Wednesday, giving him eight strikeouts in nine at bats. He started 0-for-2 Thursday before blasting an opposite field shot to begin the seventh.
Toronto starter Jesse Litsch allowed three runs and five hits in seven innings. He walked none and struck out two.
The Blue Jays scored six runs in Wednesday’s victory, ending a 20-game stretch in which they had failed to score more than five runs. But Toronto’s offense was back in a funk until the ninth-inning rally.
“If we’re going to get to the point where we’re going to be a playoff team, we’re going to have to come through,” Overbay said. “We’re going to have to score some runs and do those little things that championship teams do. We’re just not doing it right now. We’re getting closer, but we’ve got to get it going soon.”
Xtra, xtra: Navarro’s homer was his first of the season. His first career grand slam was July 20, 2007 at New York. Tampa Bay 3B Evan Longoria, who came in 4-for-29 (.138) in his past eight games, was held out of the starting lineup for first since being recalled from Triple-A on April 12 but entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh. Rays OF Cliff Floyd (knee) will take batting practice when the team returns home Friday and could be activated soon (Associated Press - Sports).

Blue Jays 6, Rays 2 (Game #33) [17-16]

Shaun Marcum gave Toronto another outstanding pitching performance and the Blue Jays feeble offense gave the right-hander some runs to work with for a change.
Marcum came within an out of a shutout, Scott Rolen hit a two-run homer and the Blue Jays beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-2 on Wednesday night.
Marcum (4-2) walked one and matched a season-high by striking out nine, allowing two runs in 8 2-3 innings. He won back-to-back starts for the first time this season and lowered his ERA to 2.59.
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said Marcum was “dominating.”
“I can’t say it really surprises me anymore,” Gibbons said. “He goes out there and gives you some kind of effort every night.”
The right-hander got two quick outs in the ninth before Akinori Iwamura singled down the third-base line and Carl Crawford reached on an infield chopper. B.J. Upton followed with a two-run double to center, ending Marcum’s chance for his first career complete game.
“That’s the first time Gibby has sent me out for the ninth,” Marcum said. “I was excited to go back out there and the fans were behind me. I wish I could have got it done.”
Scott Downs came on and ended the game by striking out Carlos Pena, who has fanned eight times in his past nine at-bats.
Rays manager Joe Maddon held a closed-door meeting with Pena after the game, urging him not to chase pitches he can’t handle.
“I just think he’s out of the zone a little bit,” Maddon said. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with his swing, per se. It’s just that he’s opening up and swinging at too many pitches.”
Dioner Navarro got the first hit off Marcum, a leadoff single in the third, but was thrown out by Alex Rios trying to stretch his hit into a double.
The Rays didn’t put another man on base until Upton drew a two-out walk in the seventh. Upton stole second but Pena ended the inning by grounding out.
Leading 1-0 through seven, the Blue Jays broke it open with a bat-around, five-run eighth against three Tampa Bay relievers, giving Marcum a well-deserved cushion.
“It’s a little frustrating going out there in the sixth and seventh inning and its still 0-0,” Marcum said. “It’s nice to get a little breathing room.”
Shannon Stewart opened the inning with a walk before Rolen chased Scott Dohmann with a two-run drive to left-center, his second.
Trever Miller came on and struck out Matt Stairs before walking Vernon Wells and giving up a double to Lyle Overbay. Jason Hammel replaced Miller but allowed run-scoring singles to Aaron Hill, Rod Barajas and Marco Scutaro, who was 3-for-4 with two RBIs.
Toronto came in having gone 20 games without scoring more than five runs, last doing so in an 11-3 win at Baltimore on April 15. No American League team has had such a streak since the 2002 Detroit Tigers went 24 games without scoring more than five runs.
“It’s been a while,” Rolen said. “We’re still putting some pressure on the staff. It would nice to be a little more consistent through the game and hopefully that’s coming.”
The Blue Jays have used 29 different batting lineups in 35 games in a bid to spark their stagnant offense.
“The lineup has bounced around a little bit and I’m sure it’s going to bounce around a little more,” Rolen said. “The idea is to put runs on the board and we haven’t done that.”
Rays starter Matt Garza (1-1) had to deal with baserunners in four of his first six innings, but didn’t give up a run until the seventh, when Scutaro singled home Hill. Garza walked three and only 56 of his 109 pitches were for strikes.
“My ball-to-strike ratio wasn’t exactly what I wanted but I got the outs when I had to and made the pitches when I had to,” Garza said.
Xtra, xtra: Rays LHP Scott Kazmir worked on his mechanics in a bullpen session after struggling in his season debut Sunday at Boston. Kazmir, who suffered a strained elbow in February, allowed four runs in four innings against the Red Sox, but impressed pitching coach Jim Hickey in his session Wednesday (Associated Press - Sports).

Rays 5, Blue Jays 4 (Game #32) [17-15]

Andy Sonnanstine’s fastball was erratic, but he stuck with it long enough to beat the Toronto Blue Jays.
Sonnanstine pitched six innings, Eric Hinske homered, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Blue Jays 5-4 on Tuesday night, snapping Toronto’s five-game winning streak.
Sonnanstine (5-1) allowed four runs and 10 hits, becoming the fastest five-game winner in Tampa Bay’s 11-year history. He walked one and struck out two.
“That’s typical Sonnanstine right there, a little bit of a bending but no breaking,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “Andy really battled through that whole thing well.”
Sonnanstine is 4-0 against American League East opponents and has not lost since April 9 against Seattle. He has a 2.45 ERA in his past four starts.
The 25-year-old right-hander put runners on in every inning but the first, yet succeeded by continuing to use all his pitches, even when his command failed him.
“They were all erratic at different times but I stuck with the fastball, even though there were some fastballs that got hit pretty hard,” Sonnanstine said. “I was battling all night.”
Sonnanstine didn’t have the same faith in his pitches during his 2007 rookie season.
“A few starts last year, I definitely would have gone slider, slider, slider and fallen in love with it and probably would have got hurt real bad with it,” he said.
After beginning his major league career 1-8, Sonnanstine is 10-3 in his past 16 starts.
Dan Wheeler worked the seventh and eighth while Troy Percival pitched the ninth for his seventh save.
The Rays beat Toronto for the fifth straight time and got back in the win column after being swept in a three-game series at Boston over the weekend.
“It was tough in Boston for us,” Hinske said. “Losing three in a row, you don’t want to get to that fourth game and lose it. The first game of a series, it’s a big win for us, a huge win for us.”
Hinske, a rookie of the year with Toronto in 2002 before he was traded to Boston in 2006, crushed an A.J. Burnett (3-3) pitch off the windows of the centerfield restaurant in the sixth for his seventh homer.
“Off the bat I thought it was kind of a line drive and it just kept going,” Hinske said. “It’s always a good one when you hit the windows, for sure.”
Hinske has gone 7-for-15 (.467) with two homers and six RBIs against his former club this season.
Toronto shortstop John McDonald had to be carted off the field after injuring his right ankle in the sixth, just one inning after coming on to replace David Eckstein, who left with a sore hip.
“That doesn’t happen too often,” manager John Gibbons said. “That’s not a good situation. I wouldn’t expect to see either one of them for a few days.”
Marco Scutaro replaced McDonald, who appeared to roll over on his right ankle as he tried to come up with Gabe Gross’ grounder. McDonald fell to the ground in pain, clutching his lower leg, as his teammates rushed to his side.
“It was scary,” outfielder Vernon Wells said. “On turf, you never know what can happen.”
Burnett gave up five runs and nine hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out 10, but failed to win back-to-back starts for the first time this season.
The Rays took a 3-0 lead in the third on RBI singles by Akinori Iwamura and B.J. Upton, and a sacrifice fly by Carl Crawford.
Toronto replied with two runs in the bottom of the inning on an RBI double by Eckstein and a sacrifice fly by Scott Rolen.
The Blue Jays tied it at 3-all in the fourth when Wells tripled and scored on Overbay’s sacrifice fly, but Iwamura doubled home a run on the fifth and Hinske homered in the sixth.
Toronto cut it to 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth. Wells led off with a single and scored when Overbay doubled off the top of the wall in center.
Xtra, xtra: Carlos Pena went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts. OF Cliff Floyd (right knee) could rejoin the Rays as early as this weekend, manager Joe Maddon said. INF Ben Zobrist (left thumb) will have pins removed from his hand Monday and is expected back shortly afterward. RHP Al Reyes (right shoulder) threw from flat ground Tuesday and will play catch in the outfield again Wednesday before he tries throwing from a mound (Associated Press - Sports).

Red Sox 7, Rays 3 (Game #31) [16-15]

Jon Lester’s expanding repertoire helped Boston finish off a three-game sweep of Tampa Bay. Kevin Youkilis had four RBIs and Lester pitched six innings to lift the Boston Red Sox to a 7-3 victory over Tampa Bay on Sunday, spoiling the return of Rays ace Scott Kazmir.
“He’s taken steps to be a more complete pitcher,” Sox captain Jason Varitek said of Lester. “We’ve added some stuff to his repertoire and he’s expanding what he can do.”
After being swept for the first time in franchise history by Tampa Bay last weekend, the Red Sox returned the favor and outscored the Rays in the series 26-10. None of the Tampa Bay starters in the three-game series made it out of the fourth inning.
“This is not devastating for this group,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “Sometimes people tend to get overwhelmingly negative, but we will rebound from this. When you play the Red Sox, things are going to happen in a negative way sometimes.”
Lester (2-2) allowed a run and four hits with three walks. His 13-inning scoreless streak was snapped when Carlos Pena hit his seventh home run of the season, cutting Boston’s lead to 4-1 in the sixth.
“It’s fun when you see young guys take some of the things they work on into a game and have success with it,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. “It allows your offense time when you’re not battling back from a deficit.”
Kazmir was chased after allowing four runs in four innings in his season debut. He had been out since straining his elbow in February.
“My arm felt great, but I was doing a little too much,” Kazmir said. “I felt like I was battling myself the whole time, but I’ll be fine.”
Jonathan Papelbon got the final four outs to record his ninth save in nine chances for Boston. Youkilis had a pair of doubles and a solo shot, his third home run of the season off Dan Wheeler in the seventh inning for a 5-3 lead. His two-run double in the eighth off Scott Dohmann extended Boston’s lead to 7-3.
“Our offense came back and got us within a run and I didn’t do my job,” Wheeler said. “(Youkilis) is in the number three hole for a reason.”
Tampa Bay scored a pair in the seventh off Manny Delcarmen. Jason Bartlett hit a one out single and then scored on Akinori Iwamura’s tripled to deep center. Hideki Okajima relieved Delcarmen, but was greeted with an RBI single by Carl Crawford to cut the lead to 4-3. Okajima struck out B.J. Upton and Pena to end the inning. After a Youkilis sacrifice fly gave Boston a 1-0 lead in the first inning, the Sox added two more in the third. Dustin Pedroia led off the inning with a single, Youkilis doubled and then Pedroia scored on a passed ball by Kazmir. Manny Ramirez then doubled off the wall to knock in Youkilis for a 3-0 lead. Coco Crisp scored Boston’s fourth run when he led off the fourth with a single, stole second and advanced to third on an error before scoring on a Pedroia groundout. B.J. Upton returned for Tampa Bay, who was swept in a three-game series for the first time this season and has dropped four of six. Boston stole five bases and finished 5-1 on the homestand.
Xtra, xtra: Kazmir was activated from the disabled list and OF Justin Ruggiano was optioned to the minors. Tampa Bay has used 35 players on the active roster this season, most in the majors. Tampa Bay has only won two series in 28 chances in Boston (Associated Press - Sports).

Red Sox 12, Rays 4 (Game #30) [16-14]

Manny Ramirez finally ended his longest RBI drought since joining the Red Sox.
Ramirez singled in two runs in the first inning to end his longest RBI drought since 1997, and Josh Beckett pitched eight innings to help the Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 12-4 on Saturday night. A quick look at Manny Ramirez’s numbers so far this season makes the drought hard to fathom. Ramirez entered the game hitting .321 with six homers and 20 RBIs—hardly a rough start.
“You keep playing him and he’ll have good numbers,” Boston manager Terry Francona said. “That’s a given.”
Tampa Bay’s Carlos Pena understands it’s just Manny being Manny.
“Stuff like that happens,” said Pena, who played with Ramirez for about a month in 2006. “He might get a couple of RBIs in a series, then get 15 in a homestand. He understands you stick with a plan and good things happen, and he’s been doing it a long time.”
Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz each had three hits and Jason Varitek drove in three runs for Boston, which has won four of five after a five-game losing streak. The Red Sox can complete the three-game sweep—like the Rays did to them last weekend in St. Petersburg, Fla.—Sunday afternoon when Tampa Bay’s Scott Kazmir is scheduled to make his first start of the season. Gabe Gross hit a two-run homer and Akinori Iwamura also connected for the Rays, who lost for just the third time in 11 games. Beckett (3-2) allowing four runs and seven hits, struck out five and walked one.
“They picked me up today,” Beckett said. “Offensively, obviously, with the number of runs and hits we had, but there were three or four great plays out in the outfield.”
Ramirez threw out Pena trying to score on a flyball, ending a fourth-inning rally. James Shields (3-2) tossed a two-hit shutout in his previous start Sunday against the Red Sox, but he gave up three runs before retiring a batter Saturday night. He lasted only 3 2-3 innings, giving up seven runs and 10 hits, never looking like the pitcher that baffled Boston last week.
“He just wasn’t comfortable,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. “He just didn’t appear to be. That would be the best word. From the side, you look at the velocity readings, they were normal, but overall command.”
Jacoby Ellsbury and Pedroia singled in the first before Ortiz hit an RBI double off the Green Monster. Ramirez appeared to ground out when third baseman Evan Longoria fielded his slow roller down the line and threw to first. But plate umpire Bill Welke ruled the ball foul and sent Pedroia back to third from near the dugout. Ramirez came back down into the batter’s box and grounded the next pitch up the middle for a two-run single. Ramirez had gone 11 games without an RBI since hitting his 496th career homer on April 19, his longest run-producing drought with the Red Sox—where he signed as a free agent in December 2000—and the second-longest of his career. He had previously gone 12 games twice with Cleveland, the last in June 1997. Gross homered about eight rows into the right-field seats for his first of the season in the second, but Pedroia had an RBI single in the bottom half. The Rays cut it to 5-3 on Longoria’s run-scoring single in the fourth, but Beckett escaped a bases-loaded jam on Ramirez’s throw and Varitek’s tag.
Xtra, xtra: Rays CF B.J. Upton, who missed his first game of the season Friday night after leaving Thursday’s with a strained left shoulder, took some swings, but Maddon elected not play him (Associated Press - Sports).

Red Sox 7, Rays 3 (Game #29) [16-13]

The Boston Red Sox used some late-night offense to cool off the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night. Dustin Pedroia drove in three runs, including a two-run single in a five-run fourth inning, and the Red Sox earned a 7-3 win over the Rays in a game that started 2 hours, 27 minutes late because of a rain delay. The Red Sox hit just .153 and scored only four runs in their previous five games before getting 13 hits in the win. Brandon Moss hit a solo homer and Pedroia had a double and two singles for the Red Sox, who were held to three runs despite winning two of three against Toronto earlier in the week.
“You go through that in a season,” said Moss, a rookie. “You face a lot of good pitchers in a row. We’re not the only team that will go through it.”
The Red Sox won for just the third time in nine games. Tampa Bay, coming off its first winning April in club history (14-12), lost for only the second time in 10 games. The Rays swept the Red Sox in St. Petersburg, Fla., last weekend. Only a couple thousand fans remained in Fenway Park when the game ended at 12:48 a.m. Clay Buchholz (2-2) allowed one run, five hits, walked four and struck out six in 5 1-3 innings. Jonathan Papelbon, the fifth Boston pitcher, worked a perfect ninth.
“I think it’s just contagious,” Buchholz said of the offense. “I’ve been told that since I was 8-years-old. One guy gets a hit and they all do.”
Pedroia was 1-for-21 before his RBI double gave Boston a 1-0 lead against Rays starter Edwin Jackson (2-3). Moss homered onto a small roof above a TV camera stand in center field to make it 2-0. Jacoby Ellsbury had an RBI single after Jason Varitek singled and Julio Lugo walked. Ellsbury stole second. Pedroia drove in both with a single, making it 4-0, and advanced to second on left fielder Carl Crawford’s throw. David Ortiz lined an RBI single to center.
“He just let it get away,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. “The one bad play I thought was the walk to Lugo. Otherwise, guys are going to get hits and the fact that it was two outs and nobody on and it turned into that inning, that’s the tough part about it.”
Jackson gave up six runs on nine hits in four-plus innings.
“They hit some good pitches. I think I threw one pitch down the middle and that was a home run,” Jackson said. “Today I challenged them to hit the ball— and they hit the ball.”
Jackson pitched seven innings of one-run ball when the Rays beat Buchholz and the Red Sox on Akinori Iwamura’s two-run homer last Saturday.
“We needed it,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said of his team’s offense. “We had some success in an inning and it carried over enough for us to win the game.”
Crawford scored Tampa Bay’s first run on Buchholz’s fifth-inning wild pitch. Iwamura had a sacrifice fly and Crawford a run-scoring ground out in the seventh against reliever Javier Lopez.
Xtra, xtra: Rays pitcher David Price, taken first overall in the 2007 amateur draft, struck out three over two perfect innings in an extended spring training game. It was his first outing since straining his elbow on March 20. He threw 26 pitches, with his fastball consistently reaching 96-97 mph (Associated Press - Sports).

Rays 4, Orioles 2 (Game #28) [16-12]

With every victory, the Tampa Bay Rays seemingly reach another milestone and put a bit more distance between themselves and that sorry franchise known as the Devil Rays. Matt Garza allowed three hits in six innings, Carl Crawford snapped a tie with a two-run single in the seventh, and the surging Rays defeated the Baltimore Orioles 4-2 Thursday. Tampa Bay took two of three to win a third straight series and climb four games over .500 (16-12) for only the third time in its 11-year history. The team never has been five games over the break-even point, but it appears it’s only a matter of time before that hurdle is cleared. Tampa Bay dropped the “Devil” from its nickname this season, and this team is thus far nothing like those that spent much of the last decade in last place. The current version is battling Boston for the top spot in the AL East, and Tampa Bay is eagerly looking forward to a weekend series against the Red Sox, whom they swept at home a week ago. Adam Jones homered for the Orioles, who have lost four of five. Baltimore did not get a hit after the fourth inning; its only baserunner over that span was Brian Roberts, who drew a walk in the fifth. Tampa Bay center fielder B.J. Upton left the game with a strained left shoulder, an injury that occurred while he was batting in the fifth inning. He leads the team with 22 RBIs and is one of only two Rays (with Crawford) to appear in all 28 games. Making his second start since returning from the 15-day disabled list with right arm nerve irritation, Garza (1-0) enjoyed his longest and most effective outing of the season. Except for the fourth inning, when Jones homered after a two-out double by Aubrey Huff, the right-hander allowed only one runner past first base. Garza is 4-0 lifetime against the Orioles and 5-13 against everyone else. Dan Wheeler retired all six batters he faced and Troy Percival worked a perfect ninth for his sixth save this season and 330th overall, tying John Wetteland for 10th place on the career list. Signed as a free agent during the offseason, Percival had a feeling he was part of something special back in March. It was 2-all before Tampa Bay pulled ahead in the seventh against Brian Burres (3-2). Shawn Riggans walked and Jason Bartlett singled, and after Jones mishandled the ball in center, the runners advanced to second and third. Jamie Walker entered and struck out Akinori Iwamura before Crawford lined a single up the middle. Burres is now 0-3 with a 9.64 ERA in 11 lifetime appearances against Tampa Bay. Upton hit an RBI double in the first inning, and Jonny Gomes made it 2-0 in the fourth with his third homer of the season. Jones tied it with his second home run, a drive to left-center on a 1-1 pitch. Roberts went 4-for-9 with four walks in the series. He has an 11-game hitting streak. Garza has yielded three homers this season, all of them to the Orioles. Tampa Bay was previously four games over .500 in 1998 (10-6) and 1999 (11-7) (Associated Press - Sports).

Rays 8, Orioles 1 (Game #27) [15-12]

Andy Sonnanstine and the Tampa Bay Rays can only hope the remaining five months of the season are as memorable as the first one. Sonnanstine pitched eight innings of six-hit ball, Erik Hinske homered and the Rays completed the first winning April in franchise history by beating the Baltimore Orioles 8-1 Wednesday night. The victory was the seventh in eight games for the Rays, who went 14-12 in April (after going 1-0 in March). Now in its 11th year of existence, Tampa Bay has never been three games over .500 this late in the season. Sonnanstine (4-1) gave up one run, walked two and had a season-high five strikeouts in winning his third straight start. He became the first Tampa Bay pitcher to win four games in April and tied the team record for wins in any month. The right-hander surrendered a third-inning RBI single to Brian Roberts, then retired 12 straight batters before Aubrey Huff singled with one out in the seventh. The Rays have to make room for Scott Kazmir, who comes off the disabled list Sunday, and Sonnanstine (who entered with a 5.28 ERA) was one of three starters Maddon listed Tuesday as the potential odd-man out. At this point, however, it appears his job is safe. Hinske homered in the fourth inning after an infield hit by Evan Longoria to put the Rays up 3-1. He has six home runs, tied with Carlos Pena for the team lead. Tampa Bay pulled away with a five-run seventh. After B.J. Upton chased Bob McCrory with an RBI single, Pena and Dioner Navarro hit two-run singles off Dennis Sarfate. Pena had gone 14 games without an RBI since April 12th. Sarfate and Pena exchanged words in the eighth, and for a moment it seemed that both dugouts might empty. But the situation quickly cooled, and Pena bounced into an inning-ending double play. Baltimore starter Matt Albers (2-1) allowed three runs and four hits in six innings. The loss dropped the Orioles into a second-place tie with Tampa Bay in the AL East behind Boston, a 2-1 winner over Toronto. The Rays got a second-inning run on a sacrifice fly by Gabe Gross. After Roberts’ RBI single in the third, Sonnanstine avoided further damage by striking out Melvin Mora and Luke Scott with runners on the corners. Tampa Bay finished April with a 3.74 ERA, the best month in franchise history. Roberts went 2-for-3 with a walk in extending his hitting streak to ten games. He’s 13-for-37 (.351) in that span. Tampa Bay’s previous best April was 12-12 in 1999. McCrory allowed four runs, two hits and two walks in his major league debut. His ERA is 108.00. Baltimore dipped to 10-5 at home (Associated Press - Sports).

Orioles 7, Rays 4 (Game #26) [14-12]

One year later, Garrett Olson finally appears to have grasped the concept of what it takes to be successful in the major leagues. Olson took a shutout into the seventh inning, and the Baltimore Orioles ended the Tampa Bay Rays’ six-game winning streak with a 7-4 victory Tuesday night in a surprising duel for first place in the AL East. Recalled from Triple-A Norfolk before the game, Olson (1-0) gave up two runs and four hits in 6 2/3 innings, walking five and striking out six. The left-hander was summoned after a rainout forced Baltimore to play four games in three days, leaving manager Dave Trembley short of rested starting pitchers. Olson proved to be the perfect stand-in. He retired the first seven batters and came within one out of blanking the Rays through seven innings in his finest performance in the big leagues. Olson made his debut last season and went 1-3 with a 7.79 ERA in seven starts. This time, however, he was outstanding. Olson will almost certainly get another shot at filling the void in the rotation left by the injury to Adam Loewen. Aubrey Huff homered and Melvin Mora had two RBIs for the Orioles, who broke a tie atop the division with Tampa Bay. Both teams usually reside in the lower tier of the standings, but each has gotten off to an unexpected solid start while Boston, the New York Yankees and Toronto have struggled. Baltimore led 7-0 before the Rays scored four runs in the seventh. A two-out RBI double by Akinori Iwamura chased Olson, and Carl Crawford followed with a run-scoring single off Randor Bierd before B.J. Upton hit his third homer. But it wasn’t enough to ruin a memorable performance by the 24-year-old Olson. George Sherrill, the fourth Baltimore reliever, got three outs for his 10th save. Tampa Bay’s Jason Hammel (2-2) allowed three runs, six hits and four walks in 2 2/3 innings... the shortest of his 28 career starts in the big leagues. The right-hander had gone at least six innings in his previous three starts this season. After pulling off three-game sweeps of Toronto and Boston, the Rays couldn’t sustain the momentum. Hammel escaped damage after walking the bases loaded in the first inning, then allowed run-scoring singles to Mora and Nick Markakis in the second. Both were stranded when right fielder Eric Hinske made a diving grab of Kevin Millar’s opposite-field, two-out liner to right. Olson worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the third by retiring Crawford on a fielder’s choice and striking out Upton. Ramon Hernandez hit an RBI double in the bottom half for a 3-0 lead, but Adam Jones fell rounding third base on the play and was an easy out at the plate. A run-scoring double by Brian Roberts, a sacrifice fly by Mora and a two-run homer by Huff made it 7-0 in the sixth. Tampa Bay needs a win Wednesday to earn the first winning April in franchise history. Hernandez went 2-for-2 against Hammel and is 7-for-14 lifetime against him. Huff set a career high with five homers in April. He had four through May 31st last season (Associated Press - Sports).

Rays 3, Red Sox 0 (Game #25) [14-11]

Wow. James Shields pitched Tampa Bay into a rare position. The Rays are now the co-leaders in the AL East with the Baltimore Orioles. Shields threw a two-hitter for his first career shutout, Evan Longoria homered and the Rays beat Josh Beckett and Boston 3-0 Sunday to complete their first three-game sweep of the Red Sox. Coupled with the Orioles’ 6-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox, the Rays’ victory gave them a share of first place. It’s the latest in any season during the team’s 11-year history that Tampa Bay has held a share of the division lead. Tampa Bay has won six straight for its longest winning streak since a six-game run July 28th-Aug. 3rd, 2005. The Rays (14-11) are three games over .500 for the first time since starting the season 3-0 in 2002. It’s also the latest in the season the Rays have ever been three games above .500. Shields (3-1) struck out seven and walked one. Longoria made it 2-0 with a solo homer off Beckett in the seventh. Beckett (2-2) struck out a career-high 13 and walked one in seven innings for the Red Sox, who have lost five straight. He allowed two runs... one earned... and four hits. Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz was out of the starting lineup for the second consecutive game. With a day game after a night contest, Boston manager Terry Francona had left fielder Manny Ramirez DH for the second time this season. Ortiz said he probably will play on Tuesday when the Red Sox open a three-game series with Toronto. Jason Bartlett singled with one out in the third and scored on a pair of errors during a pickoff play. He reached third when Beckett made an errant throw on a pickoff attempt and scored when right fielder J.D. Drew made a bad throw toward the plate after picking up the ball in foul territory. Bartlett went 1-for-2 against Beckett, and has five hits in eight at-bats overall against him. He stayed in the game after getting hit in the helmet by a Manny Delcarmen pitch in the eighth and scored on Carl Crawford’s RBI double. Dustin Pedroia singled in the first and Julio Lugo reached on a base hit in the sixth for Boston. Beckett, who missed his last start with neck stiffness, said he felt fine. Shields retired 10 in a row before Ramirez walked to start the fifth. Ramirez swiped second for his 35th career stolen base and first since Apr. 10th, 2005. Shields worked out of trouble by retiring Kevin Youkilis on a grounder, and striking out Coco Crisp and Jason Varitek. Beckett struck out the first five batters he faced. Eric Hinske singled in the second, but Beckett struck out Dioner Navarro to end the inning. He added two more strikeouts in the third (Associated Press - Sports).

Rays 2, Red Sox 1 (Game #24) [13-11]

Clay Buchholz made one mistake and Akinori Iwamura turned it into another Tampa Bay victory. Iwamura homered in the eighth inning and Tampa Bay beat the Boston Red Sox 2-1 on Saturday night for the Rays’ first five-game winning streak in more than two years. Iwamura’s two-out, two-run homer, his first since Sept. 3rd, came on a 1-1 pitch from Buchholz (1-2), who took a one-hit shutout into the inning. Iwamura said he looking for a curveball. Dioner Navarro got the Rays’ second hit, a pinch-hit single with one out in the eighth. After Jason Bartlett flew out, Iwamura’s shot helped Tampa Bay win its fifth straight for the first time since Aug. 16th-21st, 2005. Buchholz allowed two runs and three hits over eight innings in his first complete game of the season. He matched his career-high by striking out nine, and walked two. Boston has lost four in a row. Scott Dohmann (2-0) struck out Manny Ramirez, the only batter he faced in the eighth, to win for the second straight day. He got the victory Friday when he got David Ortiz to hit into an inning-ending double play in the 11th inning. Troy Percival pitched the ninth for his fifth save in five chances. Coco Crisp opened the fifth with a single, advanced two bases to third on Edwin Jackson’s wild pitch and scored on Jacoby Ellsbury’s infield hit that put Boston up 1-0. Jackson gave up one run and five hits in seven innings. He had four strikeouts and three walks. Boston’s Ortiz was scratched from the starting lineup due to a bruised right knee. He was hurt diving into first base attempting to beat out a double-play grounder in the final inning of Boston’s 5-4, 11-inning loss to the Rays on Friday night. Kevin Youkilis of the Red Sox established a new major league record for first basemen when he fielded his 1,701 consecutive chance without an error in the seventh, recording the out on Eric Hinske’s grounder to second. The old mark of 1,700 was set by Stuffy McInnis from May 31st, 1921 to June 2nd, 1922. Youkilis’ last error at first came on July 4th, 2006, a span of a major league-best 205 games. Red Sox DH J.D. Drew had an unique two-out infield single in the first. He broke his bat, with the barrel forcing first baseman Carlos Pena to take several steps toward second to avoid it. By the time Pena reached first, Drew was able to beat second baseman Iwamura’s throw to the base. Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia went 0-for-4, snapping his hitting streak at 14 games. Rays’ left-fielder Carl Crawford had a 12-game hitting streak end after going hitless in four at-bats (Associated Press - Sports).

Rays 5, Red Sox 4 [11 innings] (Game #23) [12-11]

Given a green light to swing away, Nathan Haynes delivered for the Tampa Bay Rays. Haynes singled with none out in the 11th inning, driving in Carl Crawford from second base and giving the Rays a 5-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night. Manager Joe Maddon never gave serious thought to having Haynes bunt instead of go for the game-winner with two runners on. Haynes lined an 0-1 pitch from Mike Timlin (2-2) to right field after Crawford, who was 3-for-6 and scored three runs, began the rally with a single and stole second. Timlin walked B.J. Upton before giving up the winning hit. The Red Sox stranded the potential go-ahead run in scoring position in the ninth, 10th and 11th innings. Scott Dohmann (1-0) got David Ortiz—the only batter he faced—to ground into an inning-ending double play with men at first and third in the top of the 11th. Dan Wheeler worked out of a jam in the ninth, getting Ortiz to fly to center and striking out Manny Ramirez with runners at first and second. Kevin Youkilis and Jed Lowrie walked in the 10th before Julio Lugo grounded into a double play. The Rays rallied after falling behind knuckleballer Tim Wakefield 3-1, extending their season-best winning streak to four games. Their 12 wins overall match their most ever after 23 games. Right-hander Matt Garza made his first start since leaving Tampa Bay’s April 8 home opener with what the Rays described as radial nerve irritation in his pitching arm. He retired the Red Sox in order in the first, then nearly didn’t make it through a 40-pitch second in which he gave up a leadoff single to Ramirez before walking J.D. Drew and Sean Casey to load the bases with one out. Boston wound up scoring three runs in the inning with Lugo drawing a bases-loaded walk, Kevin Cash delivering a sacrifice fly and Jacoby Ellsbury following with a RBI single that made it 3-1. Casey was injured scoring on Ellsbury’s hit, limping across the plate with a right hip flexor strain that forced him out of the game. Wakefield was unbeaten at Tropicana Field until the Rays beat him here last Sept. 23. He’s 19-3 all-time against Tampa Bay, including 9-1 on the road, but struggled after the Red sox gave him the early lead. Crawford, who has a 12-game hitting streak, tripled and scored on Upton’s sacrifice fly in the first and Tampa Bay trimmed Boston’s lead to 3-2 on Evan Longoria’s RBI single in the third. Wakefield fell behind 4-3 in the fourth when Crawford tied it with an RBI triple and then scored on shortstop Lugo’s fielding error. The Red Sox countered with a run in the sixth, then turned the game over to their bullpen (Associated Press - Sports).