Devil Ray Streak Hits 11 in Loss to Red Sox

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays didn’t take any solace in playing the first-place Boston Red Sox close again.

The Devil Rays lost for a team record-tying 11th consecutive time Monday night, falling to the Red Sox, 5-3, after loading the bases with one out in the ninth inning at St. Petersburg, Fla.

Tim Wakefield, who pitched three innings to earn his second save, got Russ Johnson to ground into a double play to finish a four-game sweep. Boston won its sixth in a row and leads the majors with a 21-7 record.

The ill-timed double play was the first the Devil Rays have hit into during their losing streak. Tampa Bay has not scored a run in the ninth inning this season.

Boston Manager Grady Little normally would call on Ugueth Urbina to pitch the ninth. But Little wanted to give his closer a rest after Urbina earned saves in three consecutive games.

Rey Sanchez drove in two runs as the Red Sox increased their lead in the American League East to five games over idle New York.

Tampa Bay’s slide matches the club record set June 30-July 13, 1998, and also equals the longest losing streak in the majors this year. Detroit opened the season with 11 consecutive losses.

The Devil Rays have been outscored, 58-28, and outhomered, 11-5, during the streak, and Tampa Bay has dropped four games after taking a lead into the ninth inning.

Brian Daubach hit a solo homer off Tanyon Sturtze (0-4) in the seventh inning, giving Darren Oliver (4-1) a 5-1 lead. Wakefield replaced the Boston starter after Oliver gave up a two-run homer to Toby Hall in the seventh.

The Devil Rays loaded the bases without getting the ball out of the infield in the ninth. Greg Vaughn walked, then Wakefield threw wildly to second after fielding Steve Cox’s grounder and gave up an infield single to Chris Gomez.

But Johnson’s grounder ended the threat.

Oliver, coming off a shutout against Baltimore, gave up three runs and five hits in six-plus innings.

Brent Abernathy had the only hits off Oliver--two singles and a solo homer--until Cox opened the Tampa Bay seventh with a double and Hall followed with his first home run of the season.

Texas 6, Chicago 5--Gabe Kapler made up for two earlier errors with a key defensive play and a game-winning sacrifice fly in the ninth for the Rangers at Arlington, Texas.

Kapler’s short fly to left field was deep enough to score Rafael Palmeiro, who led off the ninth by drawing a walk from Antonio Osuna (3-1). Palmeiro had gone to third on Rusty Greer’s single, his third hit of the game.

Hideki Irabu (1-2), the sixth Texas pitcher, worked the ninth. Magglio Ordonez, who earlier had hit his seventh home run, had a two-out single in the ninth, but was thrown out by Kapler trying to stretch the hit into a double.

Minnesota 3, Detroit 1--Jacque Jones drove in three runs and the Minnesota bullpen picked up for injured starter Rick Reed at Minneapolis.

Reed (4-1) threw only 62 pitches in five innings but left with a strained right forearm. He gave up five hits, a run and a walk while striking out four.

Tony Fiore, Mike Jackson and J.C. Romero held the Tigers scoreless for three innings and Eddie Guardado pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th save in as many chances.

Cleveland 9, Baltimore 4--Brady Anderson, making his return to Camden Yards, doubled and scored the tiebreaking run on Jolbert Cabrera’s bad-hop single in the eighth to help the Indians win at Baltimore.

Jim Thome, Russell Branyan and Matt Lawton homered for the Indians, who have won three in a row following a six-game skid.