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Rays rally past Tigers, complete sweep

Aug 3, 2008 - 11:55 PM ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Ticker) -- The Tampa Bay Rays' magical season continues to chug along.

Carlos Pena drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the 10th inning as the Rays completed a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, posting a 6-5 victory at Tropicana Field.

The triumph was the fifth straight for Tampa Bay (66-44), which has won 39 of its last 48 home games and matched its win total from all of last season. The Tigers have lost four straight for the first time since June 2-6.

"The way we do it really doesn't matter," Pena said. "What a great game today. The way we picked each other up."

The Rays trailed, 5-4, in the bottom of the 10th before Willy Aybar drew a leadoff walk and Shawn Riggans was hit by a pitch from Tigers reliever Fernando Rodney (0-3). After Akinori Iwamura sacrificed the runners to second and third, Rodney walked B.J. Upton to load the bases.

Carl Crawford singled to left, making it 5-5, and after Evan Longoria struck out, Pena drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch, plating Riggans for the game-winner.

"Anytime you win like that, it picks up the whole clubhouse," Upton said.

Gary Sheffield, Curtis Granderson and Miguel Cabrera each hit a solo home run in the final three innings for the Tigers, but it wasn't enough.

With Tampa Bay trailing, 3-1, in the eighth, Eric Hinske led off with a solo homer off newly acquired Kyle Farnsworth and Upton added a two-run shot giving the Rays a 4-3 lead.

"I fell behind Upton 3-1 and can't do anything about that one," Farnsworth said. "But the 1-2 pitch to Hinske was right down the middle. I was trying to be aggressive and they hit the ball like they're supposed to."

"He fell behind and left something out over the plate and I took advantage of it," Upton said. "I was just trying to put something in play and not strike out."

However, Granderson homered on Rays closer Troy Percival's first pitch to force extra innings and extend his hitting streak to 13 games. Cabrera blasted a 1-1 pitch to deep left leading off the 10th, which put the Tigers in front.

"These guys really take these games one at a time," Percival said. "Win or lose, 30 minutes after the game, it's over. They don't ride the highs, don't ride the lows."

Magglio Ordonez's singles in the third and fifth spotted the Tigers a 2-0 lead. Pena's two-out seventh-inning single brought the Rays within 2-1, but Sheffield's homer in the eighth increased the margin to 3-1.

The win helped the Rays maintain a three-game lead over the Boston Red Sox (64-48) atop the American League East.

"We did miss some plays, but overall the bullpen was once again fantastic," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "It was interesting. I just like the fact intensity-wise we're into the game until the very end."