ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Travis Lee hit a tying infield single with two outs in the ninth, then drove in the winning run on an 11th-inning grounder to help the Tampa Bay Devil Rays rally for a 6-5 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.

Joey Gathright had a leadoff single against Scott Schoeneweis (3-4) in the 11th. Gathright went to second on Aubrey Huff’s grounder before stealing third. Lee then hit a grounder to first, but the speedy Gathright beat Shea Hillenbrand’s throw to the plate.

Tampa Bay right fielder Damon Hollins kept the game tied with a running catch on Russ Adams’ drive near the wall in the top of the 11th. Eric Hinske, who was on first after drawing a walk, was doubled off to end the inning.

Travis Harper (3-6) threw two scoreless innings for the win. The Devil Rays avoided a three-game sweep and moved to 32-23 since the All-Star break.

Blue Jays starter Gustavo Chacin allowed three runs and five hits in 7 2-3 innings, nearly improving to 4-0 in four starts against Tampa Bay this year. He struck out a career-high seven and walked one.

Jason Frasor got the final out in the eighth but Miguel Batista allowed two runs in the ninth for his seventh blown save in 34 opportunities.

Huff hit an RBI grounder off Batista to get Tampa Bay to 5-4. Lee tied it with a two-out infield single, a high chopper to first that Hillenbrand failed to field cleanly.

The Devil Rays improved to 4-76 when trailing after eight innings.

Hillenbrand’s RBI double off Chad Orvella broke a 3-all tie in the eighth. Aaron Hill made it 5-3 with a sacrifice fly.

Tampa Bay starter Casey Fossum gave up three runs – two earned – and five hits in seven innings.

Julio Lugo put the Devil Rays ahead 2-1 with a two-run single in the third. He gave Tampa Bay a two-run lead when he stole third and scored on a throwing error by catcher Gregg Zaun.

The Blue Jays tied it at 3 on Guillermo Quiroz’s two-out, two-run double in the seventh. Toronto might have caught a break when left fielder Jonny Gomes appeared to misjudge the fly and couldn’t recover in time to track it down.

Quiroz’s hit came one batter after Blue Jays manager John Gibbons was ejected by plate umpire Bill Welke during an argument after Alex Rios struck out on a foul tip. TV replays appeared to show that catcher Toby Hall caught the ball just above the ground.

Toronto took a 1-0 lead on Rios’ sacrifice fly in the second.

Notes: Former New York City police officer and renowned tenor Daniel Rodriguez sang the national anthem before the game and “God Bless America” during the seventh-inning stretch. … The Blue Jays are 62-4 when leading after eight innings. … Fossum hit Hillenbrand with a pitch in the second. Fossum has hit a major league-high 18 batters. Hillenbrand has been hit 22 times, which leads the majors. … Soon after Welke ruled against the Devil Rays on a possible interference call in the second, a fan threw a foul ball hit into the second deck back onto the field. The ball landed near Welke, who talked with stadium security after the inning ended.

AP-ES-09-11-05 1755EDT

Copy the Story Link