Crawford’s homer paces the Devil Rays

Carl Crawford’s sore right wrist had been a big reason for him playing 42 games without hitting a home run. It didn’t stop him from going deep in his first at-bat in three days.

Crawford, who scored the tying run as a pinch-runner in the ninth inning, led off the bottom of the 11th with a home run to give the Tampa Bay Devil Rays a 5-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night.

“When he went up I said, ‘Listen, do whatever you can do,’ ” Devil Rays Manager Joe Maddon said. “I mean I didn’t know what he was able to do today. Then he worked the count and took the hack and then boom. I mean that ball was crushed. He knew it was a homer the second he hit it. So I officially declare him well.”

Crawford, out of the starting lineup for three games because of the sprained wrist, homered over the center-field fence.

“It surprised me,” Crawford said. “Really, I was just trying to get on base, and let the guys behind me do all the work. I definitely wasn’t expecting that. There’s probably not a better feeling than a walkoff. That’s the best feeling you’re going to get.”

Crawford’s last homer came on June 5 off Toronto ace Roy Halladay, a span of 175 at-bats. Four of his seven homers this season have been against the Blue Jays.

“He’s the last guy you would want to see up there in that situation,” Toronto Manager John Gibbons said.

“He can beat you in so many ways. That’s why he is one of the best in the league.”