• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Iwamura, Rays snap skid, defeat Blue Jays

May 7, 2008 - 4:08 AM TORONTO (Ticker) -- Akinori Iwamura had two hits and drove in two runs as the Tampa Bay Rays posted a 5-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday.

B.J. Upton and Carl Crawford each had an RBI and Andy Sonnanstine pitched six effective innings for Tampa Bay, which snapped a three-game losing streak.

Eric Hinske also blasted a solo shot for the Rays, who have won four straight vs. Toronto in 2008.

RBI singles by Iwamura and Upton sandwiched a sacrifice fly by Crawford in the top of the third to give the visitors a 3-0 lead.

After Toronto tied the score with two runs in the third and one in the fourth, Iwamura's run-scoring double in the fifth plated Evan Longoria from second base to give Tampa Bay a one-run lead. Iwamura was out at third base while attempting to stretch his hit into a triple.

Hinske's towering drive off the restaurant glass in deep center field against Blue Jays starter A.J. Burnett (3-3) in the sixth pushed the Rays' lead to two.

"I think Burnett was trying to come inside but the pitch just kind of ran back over the plate," Hinske said. "I put a good swing on it and thought it was kind of a line drive. But the ball just kept going so definitely it was a very good swing."

It was Hinske's seventh homer of the season.

The runs were enough for Sonnanstine (5-1), who allowed four runs, 10 hits and a walk while striking out two.

"Sonnanstine mixes his pitches and his fastball speeds," Toronto's Lyle Overbay said. "He also locates in certain situations and doesn't give in. He knows he can locate down and away and opponents are not going to be successful."

The righthander has won four straight, including a 5-3 victory over the Blue Jays on April 24.

"I stuck with the fastball even though some pitches got hit pretty hard," Sonnanstine said. "I was battling all night. My slider was probably my best pitch tonight, but I think I used the majority of fastball. That helped me go a little bit later into the innings."

Dan Wheeler came on to pitch the seventh and eighth innings before Troy Percival hurled a 1-2-3 ninth for his seventh save of the season.

Overbay went 2-for-2 with two RBI and Burnett allowed five runs, nine hits and a walk in six innings for Toronto, which saw its season-high five-game winning streak end.

Burnett also struck out 10 for the Blue Jays, who not only lost the game but also had shortstops David Eckstein and John McDonald exit in consecutive innings.

"First you lose Eckstein who comes out of the game, then McDonald gets hurt shortly thereafter," Blue Jays outfielder Vernon Wells said. "Obviously, it's not what you want to see. Hopefully both those guys will bounce back fairly quickly and get back to playing baseball."

Eckstein went down with a right groin strain in the fifth. McDonald had to be carted off the field after spraining his right ankle in the sixth.