St. Petersburg, FL (My Sportsbook) - Delmon Young and pinch-hitter B.J. Upton both lofted two-run homers off Blue Jays closer Jeremy Accardo in the ninth inning to give the
Tampa Bay Devil Rays a 5-4 victory over Toronto at Tropicana Field.
The win by Tampa Bay spoiled an impressive outing from Toronto starter A.J. Burnett, who went eight complete innings - just one night after Jays starter Dustin McGowan went eight for the win - allowing only one earned run on three hits, striking out eight and walking just one.
Carl Crawford led off the ninth by reaching on an error by shortstop John McDonald, then took second on defensive indifference. Young then blasted an Accardo fastball over the fence in right-center to trim the lead to 4-3.
Accardo (4-4) got Brendan Harris to ground to second, but walked Jonny Gomes to bring Upton - scratched from the original starting lineup - to the plate with two outs in a one-run game. Upton then lined the first pitch he saw from Accardo just over the right field fence, giving the Rays a thrilling comeback win.
"Carl putting pressure on McDonald to make that play was absolutely huge," said Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon, whose contract was extended through the 2009 season prior to the game. "The hustle play and the great at-bat (by Gomes). One of our chief tenants is to run hard to first base and Carl sets a great standard for that."
Al Reyes (2-2) picked up the decision in relief after tossing a scoreless top half of the ninth, striking out a pair.
Tampa starter Jason Hammel lasted six innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits, striking out one and walking two.
Young finished 2-for-4 on the night, and Dioner Navarro had a solo home run for the Rays, who have won eight of 11.
Alex Rios finished the night 1-for-3 after his 23rd homer of the season, and Vernon Wells and Matt Stairs also knocked in a run apiece.
Toronto has lost three of its last five.
"It's a heartbreaker," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said afterward. "We have seen it too many times in this place. They have some guys that can take you deep real quick, and that is exactly what happened. Upton and Young are strong. That's what happens when you use the whole field. They are dangerous."
Tampa Bay got on the board in the second when Navarro launched a two-out shot to right, his eighth of the season.
Toronto then took a 2-1 lead in the sixth on Rios' two-run homer, which scored Stairs, who led off with a single.
The Jays tallied again in the seventh against Rays reliever Grant Balfour, beginning when Aaron Hill beat out an infield single and Gregg Zaun followed with a single to left. John McDonald then moved the runners with a sacrifice bunt, and Vernon Wells plated Hill with a chopped single through the drawn-in infield. Stairs then scored Zaun on a sac fly to left for a 4-1 count.
Game Notes
Upton was removed from the original starting lineup with an ankle injury, and did not enter the game until his pinch-hitting appearance; his was the first pinch-hit home run by a Devil Ray this season...Navarro is hitting .301 with seven home runs and 25 RBI since the all-star break...Crawford stole his American League-leading 49th base...Gomes' outfield assist extended Tampa Bay's Major League-leading total to 33...Accardo blew his fifth save of the season (27-for-32)...Burnett remains 6-1 in 12 career starts against the Devil Rays ...Hammel has received a pair of no-decision in his only two starts against Toronto.