ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- Greg Vaughn wanted one more chance to put the Texas Rangers away.

He got it in the 11th inning Thursday night, homering off Jeff Zimmerman to finish a 4-for-6 performance and give the Tampa Bay Devil Rays an 8-7 victory that snapped a four-game losing streak.

"I like that time of the game, I guess," said Vaughn, who had run-scoring singles in his two previous at-bats to help the Devil Rays build a 7-4 lead that closer Roberto Hernandez couldn't hold in the ninth.

"Maybe my concentration is a little better. I really can't explain it," said Vaughn, who had four straight hits after striking out in his first two at-bats.

"Today was probably the best atmosphere we've had in the dugout all year. Everybody was intense and fired up, and that's the way it should be every single day."

Albie Lopez (2-2) pitched three scoreless innings for the victory.

Hernandez, an All-Star last season when he had 43 saves in 47 opportunities, gave up five consecutive singles to allow the Rangers to wipe out the deficit before Lopez came on to get the first out of the inning on Chad Curtis' sacrifice bunt.

Rafael Palmeiro, who didn't start because of a slight left hamstring strain, drove in two of the runs for the Rangers with a pinch-hit single. Royce Clayton hit a grounder up the middle to make it 7-7.

It was the fourth time in six tries that Hernandez has not been able to close out a game this season. Lopez got out of a base-loaded jam in the ninth by getting David Segui, the AL's second-leading batter, to ground into a double play.

"A sign of a good team is being able to battle back. Albie did a tremendous job coming in behind me. I left him a pretty good mess out there in a no-win situation," said Hernandez, adding that he didn't feel he pitched nearly as bad as the results.

"I'll take my chances every time and go out there and throw the same pitches," the Tampa Bay closer added. "The way things have been going this year, (opposing hitters) seem to find a hole."

Zimmerman (0-4), the fifth Texas pitcher, gave up the winning hit on an 0-1 pitch that Vaughn drove into the left-field stands for his team-leading ninth homer. Dating back to last season, the Rangers reliever has lost seven straight decisions after beginning his major league career with nine consecutive victories.

"I don't know what to think. It's beyond frustrating right now," Zimmerman said. "I'm out there every day trying to make myself better and it seems to have the exact opposite effect. I'm getting worse with every outing. I just don't know what to do right now."

The Devil Rays scored three runs in the seventh on a wild pitch and RBI singles by Vaughn and John Flaherty to take a 6-4 lead. Vaughn's RBI single in the eighth gave them the three-run cushion that Hernandez couldn't protect.

Flaherty snapped an 0-for-16 slump when he homered off Rangers starter Esteban Loaiza in the second inning. The catcher finished 3-for-5 with two RBI.

Vinny Castilla hit his fourth homer for the Devil Rays, who are 8-1 when they score seven runs or more and 2-14 when they don't.

Mike Lamb hit his first career homer off Esteban Yan in the fifth for Texas. Ruben Mateo's three-run shot wiped out a 3-1 deficit in the sixth to extend his career-best hitting streak to eight games.

Vaughn and Flaherty singled off Crabtree to drive in runs in the seventh, and the Devil Rays added a third run for a 6-4 lead when Fred McGriff scored from third base on the reliever's wild pitch.

Game notes
The matchup between Loaiza and Yan was the first in major league history between opposing pitchers named Esteban ... Yan allowed four runs on six hits in 6 2/3 innings. Loaiza gave up four runs and eight hit in six-plus innings ... Vaughn was the Devil Rays' designated hitter after starting the team's first 26 games in left field. ... Segui extended his hitting streak to eight games with a fourth-inning single ... McGriff has gone 44 at-bats without a homer since hitting two in Anaheim on April 22.