Rays rout M's to set franchise mark with 71st win

[August 11, 2008]  SEATTLE (AP) -- Willy Aybar and Shawn Riggans, the Nos. 8 and 9 hitters in Tampa Bay's lineup, both hit three-run homers, and the Rays set a franchise record with their 71st win in an 11-3 rout of the Seattle Mariners on Sunday.

Tampa Bay's previous best record came in 2004 when the Rays finished the season 70-92. After taking three of four in Seattle, the Rays are 71-46 and own a 4 1/2-game lead over Boston in the AL East, their largest advantage since July 6.

And on the day the Rays learned they'll be without outfield star Carl Crawford for at least two weeks, and possibly longer, it was again everyone in Tampa Bay's lineup chipping in.

Aybar had two home runs for the first multi-homer game of his career. He starting at third base in place of Evan Longoria, who missed his third straight game with a sore right wrist after he was hit by a pitch on Thursday night.

Aybar gave Tampa Bay a 3-0 lead in the second with his fifth homer, barely clearing the top of the left-field wall. Aybar later hit a solo homer in the seventh in almost the identical spot. He has six homers this season, and 11 in his career.

Riggans came through with two outs in the fifth, hitting a pitch by R.A. Dickey (3-7) over the hand-operated scoreboard in left for his fifth homer of the season. Riggans has played in just 18 of the Rays' last 86 games, typically just to give starting catcher Dioner Navarro a day off. It was Riggans first homer since June 29.

That was plenty of offense for Edwin Jackson. The Tampa Bay right-hander won his fourth straight start, scattering seven hits and a run over seven strong innings, striking out two. Jackson (9-7) allowed only Jose Lopez's solo homer leading off the second.

Crawford was placed on the 15-day disabled list before Sunday's game after he injured a tendon in the middle finger of his right hand. He left the team in Seattle and will be examined by team doctors in Tampa on Monday.

Losing Crawford is a blow for the first-place Rays, but the flip side was the remarkable recovery of Rocco Baldelli, who played his first game in more than a year. Baldelli had not played since May 15, 2007, missing the final 124 games of last season with a hamstring injury.

This season, Baldelli missed the first 116 games dealing with mitochondrial disorder, a condition that slows muscle recovery and causes fatigue. Baldelli grounded out in his first at-bat, but had an RBI single in the third inning and made a diving catch of Brian LaHair's shallow pop up to right in the fifth. Baldelli was lifted in the bottom of the sixth for Gabe Gross.

Cliff Floyd had three hits, including an RBI single to score Carlos Pena in the sixth. Pena had tripled, with his ball bouncing twice off the top of the wall, but staying in play. B.J. Upton also had an RBI single for the Rays.

Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki extended his hitting streak to 16 games, and had an RBI single in the ninth.

Notes: Seattle placed IF/OF Willie Bloomquist on the 15-day DL after he suffered a strained hamstring in the 10th inning of Saturday night's loss. IF Tug Hulett was called up from Triple-A Tacoma to take Bloomquist's spot. ... Upton and Suzuki both stole their 36th base in Sunday's game, two behind AL-leading Jacoby Ellsbury of Boston.

[Associated Press; By TIM BOOTH]

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