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Devil Rays down Orioles for series sweep

Aug 31, 2007 - 3:43 AM BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- Josh Wilson had three hits and Carl Crawford plated the go-ahead run in the sixth inning as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays defeated the Baltimore Orioles, 8-6, on Thursday.

Devil Rays starter Scott Kazmir (11-8) allowed five runs - four earned - and scattered seven hits in five innings. The lefthander struck out five and walked three as Tampa Bay completed its first series sweep on the road since August 2005 against the Cleveland Indians.

"Nice game," Devil Ray manager Joe Maddon said. "Kazmir didn't have his best stuff, but the bullpen was outstanding and permitted us to win the game."

"You are going to have days like this," Kazmir said. "I battled and the offense picked us up."

With the game tied at 5-5 in the sixth inning, Wilson reached on a single against Baltimore starter Jeremy Guthrie (7-5) with one out and moved to second on a bunt by Josh Paul. Akinori Iwamura followed with a grounder to shortstop Miguel Tejada, who flipped the ball to second baseman Brian Roberts to start the double play.

However, Iwamura beat the relay throw to first and the inning continued.

Crawford followed with a ground ball that found its way between first and second, allowing Wilson to score, giving Tampa Bay a 6-5 lead.

Scott Dohmann and Dan Wheeler bridged the gap to Al Reyes, who pitched the ninth for his 22nd save of the season.

Guthrie gave up six runs - five earned - and eight hits in six innings for the Orioles. The righthander struck out six and walked three as Baltimore finished its 10-game homestand with a 1-9 record.

"I'm just going out there trying to have the same approach in every inning - don't think about anything that has happened," Guthrie said. "Unfortunately, they got a couple of good swings and got momentum back on their side."

The Orioles held a 3-0 lead after Nick Markakis hit his 15th home run of the season, a three-run blast in the first inning.

The Devil Rays moved ahead with a four-run third. Wilson led off the inning with his first home run of the season.

"I'll take one of those any day," Wilson said. "I have never hit a home run to center field. I was thinking double after I hit it. I'm happy it went over (the wall)."

Guthrie got out the next two batters before Crawford hit a ground-rule double to left field and Carlos Pena walked. B.J. Upton followed with his 21st home run of the season, putting the Devil Rays on top, 4-3.

"(Guthrie's) balls are up and out over the plate," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. "The big hit was by Upton."

The lead did not last long as Kevin Millar hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning to put the Orioles back in front. Tejada singled with one out before Millar hit his 14th blast of the season.

The Devil Rays evened the score in the fourth. Brendan Harris walked to lead off the inning and advanced to third when Tejada fielded a grounder by Wilson but made an errant throw to first. Paul laid down a perfect bunt, allowing Harris to score the tying run.

After Crawford gave Tampa Bay the lead in the sixth, Iwamura added an insurance run in the eighth with his fifth homer. Greg Norton hit a sacrifice fly in the ninth, pushing the lead to 8-5.

"Overall, I like the quality of our at-bats," Maddon said. "We have shown improvement."

The Orioles tried to rally in the ninth, when Tike Redman led off the frame with a single and stole second after Roberts struck out. Corey Patterson plated Redman with a double to the left-center field gap, but Reyes struck out Markakis and induced a flyout by Tejada to end the game.

"I'm sure everybody is pressing. That's natural," Trembley said. "No one's happy. I think everyone feels like they've let everyone down."