Longoria's two homers help Rays beat Angels 13-4

[June 10, 2008]  ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Evan Longoria had a pair of solo homers and an RBI double, Dioner Navarro drove in four runs with four hits and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Los Angeles Angels 13-4 on Monday night.

Edwin Jackson (4-5) allowed four runs and 10 hits in seven innings, striking out two and walking one. The right-hander is scheduled to begin serving a five-game suspension on June 13 for his part in a bench-clearing brawl with the Boston Red Sox on Thursday at Fenway Park.

Longoria, Willy Aybar and Navarro hit consecutive homers in the second inning off Joe Saunders (9-3), helping manager Joe Maddon get his first win in Anaheim as a big league manager after eight losses at the "Big A." Maddon spent 31 years in the Angels organization and six seasons as Mike Scioscia's bench coach before taking the Tampa Bay job before the 2006 campaign.

Longoria, whose 10 homers are the most among AL rookies, drove a 1-0 pitch just beyond the second tier of the left-field bullpen to open the scoring. Aybar homered to left two pitches later, and Navarro worked the count full before giving the Rays three consecutive home runs for the first time in the franchise's 11-year history with another drive into the bullpen.

It was the first time any team hit three in a row against the Angels since April 18, 2000, at Toronto, when Craig Grebeck, Raul Mondesi and Carlos Delgado went deep in the sixth inning against Jason Dickson.

The Rays outhit the Angels 18-12, with every Tampa Bay batter getting at least one hit.

Saunders was charged with eight runs and 10 hits over 4 2-3 innings. The left-hander has given up six home runs in his last three outings -- one more than he allowed over his previous 10 starts this season combined.

Longoria homered again in the ninth off Darren Oliver.

The Halos chipped away at Jackson's 3-0 lead with an RBI single by Gary Matthews Jr. in the second and Garret Anderson's sacrifice fly in the third. Torii Hunter put them ahead 4-3 in the fourth with his 200th career homer and eighth this season after a broken-bat leadoff single by Vladimir Guerrero, who was 4-for-4 along with Matthews.

But the Rays grabbed a 8-4 lead with five runs in the fifth. B.J. Upton hit an RBI double, Aybar singled in the go-ahead run after a walk to Longoria, and Navarro followed with a two-run double to right-center on Saunders' 103rd and final pitch. Gabe Gross capped the five-run rally with an RBI single against Jose Arredondo.

The Rays tacked on two more in the seventh with Longoria's RBI double and Navarro's RBI single against Darren O'Day whose throwing error in the fifth allowed another run to score.

Notes: Maddon said Navarro will catch RHP Matt Garza's next start despite their heated exchange on Sunday at Texas, which began on the mound and continued in the dugout after Garza gave up a two-run homer to German Duran. Navarro has been behind the plate for nine of Garza's 12 starts this season. ... Angels RHP Chris Bootcheck, who gave up Mark Ellis' game-winning grand slam in Sunday's 7-3 loss at Oakland, was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a forearm strain. O'Day was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake. ... Guerrero has 23 career four-hit games, but has yet to get five. ... The Rays are 14-8 in the first game of a series, and have won nine of their last 11 series openers. ... Carl Crawford's two steals increased Tampa Bay's major league-leading total to 72. ... Aybar's younger brother Erick has missed the Angels' last 18 games with a dislocated right pinky.

[Associated Press]

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