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Devil Rays rally for three in ninth off Ryan, Jays

Apr 7, 2007 - 4:49 AM ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Ticker) -- Delmon Young and B.J. Upton gave the home fans something to cheer about.

Young homered and Upton drove in the game-winning run with an infield single against All-Star B.J. Ryan as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays scored three times in the ninth inning to beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-5, in their home opener.

Ty Wigginton, Akinori Iwamura and Upton each homered for the Devil Rays, who sold out Tropicana Field for just the fifth time in franchise history.

"I liked our effort," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "A win like this matters when you do something in the ninth inning against a closer like Ryan."

The Blue Jays overcame a 3-0 deficit with three runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth on a blast by Troy Glaus before turning it over to Ryan (0-1) in the ninth.

Wigginton, who homered in the second inning, started the rally with a one-out single. Young followed with a blast to right field, tying the contest at 5-5.

"I was just wild," Ryan said. "I was just not making very many good pitches out there. I didn't do my job.

"(Young's home run) was a fastball. Pulled a little bit, got too much of the plate, and he hit it out of the ball park."

Young's home run helped overcome his fielding miscue in the three-run seventh, when turned a single into a triple when he dove at a ball hit by Gregg Zaun.

"I think Delmon redeemed himself with the home run," Maddon said. "I know he was looking for an opportunity to make up for that."

Iwamura beat out a bunt down the third base line and advanced to third on a single to left by fellow rookie Elijah Dukes. Upton then hit a grounder to shortstop John McDonald, who could not field the ball cleanly, allowing Iwamura to score the winning run.

"They're all tough," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "I'll take our chances every night when we get in that situation. They've got a ton of talent over there. They're on the right track. They've got a ton of speed and they have guys who can hit the ball out of the ballpark. It's never easy playing these guys."

Iwamura, who went 4-for-4 and is hitting .636 after three games, was mobbed at home plate as the Devil Rays registered just their second walk-off win in a home opener.

"It was a great feeling," Iwamura said through an interpretor. "Everybody is bigger than I am and I was at the bottom underneath (the pile). I was happy to be able to help the team win."

Jae Kuk Ryu (1-0) got four outs to pick up the win for the Devil Rays.

The blast by Glaus came off Shawn Camp in the eighth after the Blue Jays got to Devil Rays starter Jamie Shields, who had allowed just two hits and had retired 13 straight batters until Alex Rios singled with two outs in the seventh. Four batters later, Shields was gone and the game was tied, 3-3.

"Jamie did a great job pitching, but then things happened in the seventh," Dukes said.

Zaun followed Rios with a triple to right field, Aaron Hill drilled a ground-rule double and after Matt Stairs walked, Reed Johnson singled home Hill, ending Shields' night. Brian Stokes got Lyle Overbay to end that threat but Camp could not stem the tide.

After Frank Thomas singled to left with one out in the eighth, Glaus stroked a 1-2 offering from Camp over the left field wall for a 5-3 lead.

Shields was charged with three runs and five hits in 6 2/3 innings.

Toronto starter Gustavo Chacin yielded three runs - all on solo home runs - and six hits in six innings.

"He did a nice job," Gibbons said. "He gave up three solo homers. I liked his pace. He made some pitches. He kept us in the ball game. That's all we want anyone to do."