Left In The Dark: Tampa Bay Sweeps Toronto

Above them, the roof rumbled and the lights went out. In a sense, its been that kind of a series for the Toronto Blue Jays. The Rays left the Jays in the dark, squeaking out three close games for a big sweep that allowed Tampa Bay to stay in striking distance of the Yankees and Red Sox.

That's been the frustrating thing for Tampa Bay. As they have won, their two rivals ahead of them won as well, preventing them from gaining any ground.

Of course, if things went differently, the Rays could be much further back.

Game one of the series featured a tremendous pitching duel and an unlikely hero. James Shields had the pill for the good guys and went a sensational seven innings. Shields scattered seven hits allowing only one run and striking out four.

Unfortunately, his offense once again was befuddled by a rookie pitcher. Young Marc Rzepczynski allowed only two hits in six innings of work. Tampa Bay only cracked the youngster in the fourth inning, when Rzepcynski walked in Carlos Pena with the bases loaded to spot Tampa Bay a 1-0 edge. In the eighth, the Blue Jays would get Rzepcynski off the hook with Scott Rolen's RBI single.

The game stretched into free baseball and set the stage in the bottom of the 11th for the much maligned Pat "The Bat" Burrell. Burrell has been puzzled by American League pitching, struggling all season and mired in a 4-for-34 funk. Burrell had his season highlight as he rocked a walk-off two-run shot to left field to snap the Rays four game losing streak.

In the middle game, the Rays and Jays exploded for 18 runs in seven innings. Tied at nine going into the bottom of the ninth, the stage was set for another thrilling victory for Tampa Bay. To get to this point, though, Tampa Bay frustrated the thousands in attendance as they blew a three-run lead three times in the ball game.

The second lead was provided by the amazing Ben Zobrist after he belted a three-run shot to left in the fourth inning. Zobrist would score the Rays ninth run in the game, giving them their third three run lead in the sixth, only to see the lead evaporate in a flurry of run-scoring singles off Grant Balfour.

Balfour's collapse robbed Scott Kazmir of a victory. Kaz worked six and a third innings, allowing seven runs off of nine hits. Definitely not a banner performance, but he deserved a better fate. 

After Alex Rios tied it in the top of the seventh, the Rays and Jays looked poised to go to extra innings for the second straight time. Instead, it would be Zo-Rilla that wins the game. 

With Carl Crawford on third after stealing both second and third and Carlos Pena on first base after walking, Ben Zobrist lined a thunderbolt to the right centerfield gap sending the Tropicana Field faithful into jubilation.

The final game of the series didn't see any late game heroics, but did feature a pitching duel between a young lion in David Price and veteran perennial all-star Roy Halladay.

Price went a strong six innings, allowing only one run. More importantly, he walked only one while scattering six hits. Halladay, meanwhile, went seven innings but saw the Rays break a 1-1 tie in the fifth when Carlos Pena doubled to left, scoring two.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, a lightning strike on a nearby transformer turned out the a set of lights in the dome, delaying the game for eighteen minutes. Once play resumed, the Rays bullpen would bend, but didn't break, holding off for the 3-2 victory.

Dan Wheeler earned his first save of the season.

Tampa Bay avoided losing ground in the AL East, continuing to trail Boston by five games. They also avoided falling further behind the red hot Yankees, trailing now by four.