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Floyd wins it in ninth for Rays

May 31, 2008 - 4:10 AM ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Ticker) -- James Shields once again pitched well enough to win. And once again, he didn't get the victory - even if the Tampa Bay Rays did.

Cliff Floyd's walk-off home run in the ninth continued the magical season for the Rays, who posted a 2-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Friday night.

Floyd homered on a 0-1 pitch off reliever Scott Linebrink (2-1), giving the Rays the victory in a matchup between the leaders in the American League East and Central Divisions.

Linebrink came on to start the ninth and promptly gave up the blast to Floyd, whose towering shot to right-center field just cleared the glove of leaping center fielder Dewayne Wise, who had just replaced Nick Swisher for defensive purposes.

"The team's playing great," Floyd said. "I just wanted to contribute. It was a great win tonight. I just told myself, put a hard swing on it."

The Rays (33-22), who own the best record in the American League, won for the 16th time in their last 22 contests. The loss was only the White Sox's fourth in their last 16 games.

"Cliff does mean that much to all of us," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "I know Cliff really wants to contribute. I know he's been wanting to do something special for us."

Dan Wheeler (1-3), the last of three Rays relievers, pitched the ninth for the win. Both starters - Shields and Jose Contreras - allowed only one run and deserved to win but were not involved in the decision.

Shields, who remained winless in his last four starts, scattered seven hits in six innings. He struck out six and walked one.

"When you come out winning, you pitched for something," Shields said. "I made some bad pitches to put myself in situations and good pitches to get out of them."

Contreras allowed just five hits in seven innings, yielding three walks and five strikeouts en route to his second straight no-decision since winning three consecutive starts.

"I kept the team in the game and the opposing team pitched a little better," Contreras said.

Tampa Bay took a 1-0 lead in the third on B.J. Upton's RBI single. The White Sox pulled even in the fifth on Alexei Ramirez's solo home run.

Early on, the White Sox squandered scoring chances. Swisher grounded into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded in the second and, one inning later, Carlos Quentin did the same with two runners on.

"We had opportunities early in the game, we didn't score," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "This type of game happens when your offense doesn't do what it is supposed to do in the course of nine innings."

Akinori Iwamura had two hits, giving him an AL-best 41 in May for the Rays, who also grounded into two double plays in the first five innings.

Cabrera collected his 1,500th career hit with a third-inning single, and A.J. Pierzynski had his 1,000th career hit in the fifth when a routine fly ball fell in shallow center field between three Rays. However, Pierzynski was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.

"Floyd's home run was just one pitch thrown in the wrong spot," Guillen said. "This is just part of the game. We have to come back (Saturday) and play."