Willy Aybar's RBI single in the top of the 10th inning lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to a 5-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday night.
After Reid Brignac singled to open the inning and Kelly Shoppach was hit by a pitch, Aybar singled to left-center field to bring home Brignac with the go-ahead run.
The Rays had a chance to add to the lead, but Carl Crawford grounded out to first with the bases loaded to end the threat.
Rafael Soriano kept the Twins at bay in the bottom of the half of the inning, inducing Joe Mauer to ground out to end the game.
Lance Cormier (3-1) earned the victory by pitching a scoreless 10th inning. Soriano picked up his 19th save.
Jeff Niemann had a decent start for Tampa Bay, allowing three runs on six hits over 6 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out five.
Matt Guerrier (1-3) took the loss in relief of Minnesota starter Carl Pavano, who surrendered three runs on seven hits over 6 1/3 innings. The Twins used eight pitchers in the loss.
Delmon Young homered and drove in a pair of runs for Minnesota, while Crawford finished 4-for-6 with a pair of runs scored for the Rays.
Tampa Bay | Minnesota | |
Jeff Niemann | Player | Carl Pavano |
No Decision | W/L | No Decision |
6.2 | IP | 6.1 |
5 | Strikeouts | 4 |
6 | Hits | 7 |
4.05 | ERA | 2.84 |
Tampa Bay | Minnesota | |
Carl Crawford | Player | Delmon Young |
4 | Hits | 2 |
1 | RBI | 2 |
0 | HR | 1 |
4 | TB | 5 |
.667 | Avg | .500 |