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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
CHICAGO (AP) -- The Tampa Bay Devil Rays barely survived a long,
wild day against the Chicago White Sox.
Jason Tyner's RBI double in the ninth inning capped Tampa Bay's
rally from a four-run deficit and gave the Devil Rays a 12-11 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday.
|  | | Bobby Smith tied the score at 11 with a leadoff homer in the ninth off White Sox closer Keith Foulke. |
"We needed that, especially after the beginning of the game,"
said Roberto Hernandez, who survived a scary ninth to pick up his
22nd save in 28 chances. "You can't give an inch to (the White
Sox). They'll take a yard."
The Devil Rays, who led 6-2 before battling back from a 10-6
hole, tied the game at 11 when Bobby Smith led off the ninth inning
against Keith Foulke (3-1) with his fourth homer.
"Bad pitch and I got hurt," Foulke said.
Aubrey Huff followed with a single. Pinch-runner Felix Martinez
advanced to second on a sacrifice and scored on Tyner's double to
the gap in left-center. Foulke blew his fifth save in 27 chances.
Smith made a key defensive play with two on and two out in
the bottom of the ninth. He knocked down Frank Thomas' single
behind second base to load the bases for Magglio Ordonez. Hernandez
then took advantage of the late-afternoon sun and shadows to strike
out Ordonez and end the game.
"As a defensive player, I always think I can get everything,"
said Smith, playing his second game since being activated from the
DL. "(Thomas) hit it pretty hard but I was able to knock it
down."
Hernandez's duel with Ordonez was another key as the White Sox
outfielder fouled off 10 pitches.
"I don't know if it was a classic ninth inning but it got the
job done," Hernandez said. "I think my teammates were a little
more nervous than I was."
With the game tied at 10 in the eighth, Jose Valentin and Thomas each drew walks against Esteban Yan (6-8). Valentin scored
on a wild pitch by Yan to give the White Sox an 11-10 lead.
Hernandez pitched the ninth for his 22nd save in 28
chances. He struck out Ordonez with the bases loaded to end
the game.
Greg Vaughn and Steve Cox drove in three runs apiece, and Mike
DiFelice hit a solo homer for Tampa Bay.
Valentin went 3-for-4 with four runs and three RBIs, Ordonez
drove in three runs and Herbert Perry hit a three-run homer for
Chicago, which had won six of nine.
The White Sox took a 2-0 lead in the first on RBI singles by
Valentin and Ordonez.
The Devil Rays then scored six runs in the second off Rocky
Biddle, highlighted by Cox's three-run double. Tyner had a
sacrifice fly, and Vaughn and Ozzie Guillen had RBI singles in the
inning.
Perry hit the first pitch from reliever Cory Lidle for his 11th
homer, highlighting a five-run third inning for the White Sox.
Thomas added an RBI double in the inning.
Valentin hit an RBI double with one out in the Chicago fourth
and scored one out later on Ordonez's single to make it 9-6.
Valentin's RBI single in the fifth made it 10-6.
DiFelice homered leading off the Devil Rays fifth. Biddle walked
Tyner before being pulled. Guillen singled and Williams hit an RBI
double off Mark Buehrle to close to 10-8. One out later, Vaughn hit
a two-run single to tie the game at 10.
Biddle, making his third career start, gave up eight runs -- four
earned -- and eight hits in five-plus innings.
"Maybe I'll throw a game where everything clicks for me,"
Biddle said. "I know this team is going to score a lot of runs.
Ray Durham told me after the second inning, 'Don't worry about
it.' "
Tampa Bay starter Dave Eiland gave up six runs and five hits in
2 1/3 innings.
Game notes
McGriff's double in the second was his third extra base hit
in his last 24 games. ... Eiland does not have a decision in three
starts since being activated from the disabled list. He had been
sidelined with a sore left hip. ... Sunday was "Dog Day" at
Comiskey Park and fans brought their pooches to sit in the
right-field bleachers. Among the 568 dogs in attendance was
Foulke's labrador, Shep. Foulke was in the bullpen.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Tampa Bay Clubhouse
Chi. White Sox Clubhouse
RECAPS
Cleveland 12
Seattle 4
Oakland 5
Detroit 4
Anaheim 5
NY Yankees 4
Toronto 6
Minnesota 3
Baltimore 2
Kansas City 1
Tampa Bay 12
Chi. White Sox 11
Texas 6
Boston 2
Pittsburgh 7
Cincinnati 3
Philadelphia 6
St. Louis 0
Colorado 13
Florida 4
Milwaukee 6
Houston 5
Atlanta 8
San Francisco 5
NY Mets 9
Los Angeles 6
Arizona 5
Chicago Cubs 4
San Diego 5
Montreal 4
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