Longoria keys rally against Halladay, helps Rays beat Blue Jays 5-3
By FRED GOODALL | Associated Press | Apr 23, 08 8:47 PM CDT in
Sports
Jason Hammel allowed four hits in six innings and Evan Longoria drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single to help the Tampa Bay Rays rally against Roy Halladay and the Toronto Blue Jays for a 4-3 victory at Disney World on Wednesday night.
The Rays improved to 5-0 in games they've played here the past two seasons in home-away-home series designed to bolster fan support in the Orlando area, about 90 miles east of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.
Longoria's hit was the big blow in a four-run sixth against Halladay (2-3), who carried a 3-0 lead into the inning, thanks to a pair of homers by streaking Matt Stairs. Carl Crawford and Eric Hinske also had RBI singles off the Toronto ace, who suffered his second straight complete-game loss.
Hammel (2-1) allowed three runs, struck two and walked four before being replaced by Dan Wheeler at the start of the seventh inning. Closer Troy Percival worked a perfect ninth for the second straight night, earning his third save in as many opportunities.
Halladay pitched his third straight complete game, allowing five runs and nine hits in eight innings. He went nine innings in a 4-1 loss to Texas last Thursday and had a complete-game victory over the Rangers on April 12.
Stairs' homers were his first since April 4 and extended his hitting streak to 11 games _ one shy of his career best with Oakland in 1998. He is hitting .405 during the stretch, and his three RBIs Wednesday night doubled his season total to six.
The Rays were limited to singles by Carlos Pena, Jonny Gomes and Akinori Iwamura before finally breaking through against Halladay with five hits and a walk during the four-run sixth that put them ahead 4-3.
The 2003 AL Cy Young Award winner looked like he might escape the inning with minimal damage when he struck out Pena with the bases loaded to bring up Longoria, who hit into a double play and grounded to third in his first two at-bats.
But the Rays rookie lined a 1-0 pitch into right field to drive in two, making it 3-all. Hinske, a single shy of hitting for the cycle in Tuesday night's series-opening win, followed with another hit to right to break the tie.
Crawford, who has a 10-game hitting streak, tripled and scored on B.J. Upton's sacrifice fly in the eighth.
Notes:@ OF Gabe Gross, obtained from Milwaukee in a trade on Tuesday, joined the Rays but did not play. ... Blue Jays OF Alex Rios was not in the lineup for the second straight night. He was rested Tuesday and sat out Wednesday with flulike symptoms. ... Toronto 1B Lyle Overbay was held out with a sore foot and ankle after limping away from a slide at home plate Tuesday. ... Rays LHP Scott Kazmir (elbow strain) pitched 4 2-3 innings, allowing four runs and seven hits, including two homers, in his second rehab start for Class A Vero Beach. He's scheduled to make an appearance for Triple-A Durham on Monday. He could rejoin Tampa Bay's rotation on May 3 or 4.
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