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  Thursday, Sep. 7 7:05pm ET
D-Rays' 4-run seventh haunts Tribe
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

CLEVELAND (AP) -- If the Cleveland Indians don't make the postseason for the sixth straight year, this is one loss that's going to haunt them all winter.

Rookie Jason Tyner's RBI single capped Tampa Bay's two-out, four-run rally in the seventh inning Thursday night as the Devil Rays snapped a six-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

"It's pretty tough," Indians manager Charlie Manuel said. "We needed one out to get out of that inning and we couldn't get it. We can't afford to lose games like that."

Tyner delivered Tampa Bay's fourth straight two-out RBI single in the seventh, and third in a row off reliever Steve Karsay (4-8).

Karsay, who has given up 16 hits in his last five innings and 21 in his last 10, dressed in the shower and left before talking with reporters.

The Devil Rays had 15 hits -- 14 singles and a double. Tyner went 3-for-5 for the AL's worst-hitting team.

"My first three-hit game," Tyner said. "I was thinking about that. Before the game Leon (Roberts), our hitting coach, told me to get three hits. I was worried about getting one."

Cleveland appeared en route to its fifth straight win as starter Bartolo Colon took a shutout into the seventh. But after Colon gave up a run, he waved for Manuel to come out to the mound.

"I said, 'What's wrong?'," said Manuel, who didn't seem pleased with Colon's excuse. "When he says he's tired I've got to take him out of the game. I was kind of surprised he said he was tired."

Karsay was unable to protect the lead, and the Indians saw their advantage in the AL wild card race reduced to two games over the Boston Red Sox.

Bryan Rekar (6-9) allowed three runs and six hits in six innings for the win. Esteban Yan pitched 1 2/3 perfect innings and Roberto Hernandez got four outs for his 29th save as the Devil Rays avoided the four-game sweep.

"The first three games were not pretty," said Hernandez. "We knew we had to do better. It will be fun to get on the plane knowing that we took one from them."

Tampa Bay continually let Colon off the hook, failing to get a clutch hit all night before getting six singles in the seventh.

Greg Vaughn, Vinny Castilla and pinch-hitter Aubrey Huff had run-scoring hits as Tampa Bay tied it at 3-3.

Tyner then singled to center on an 0-1 pitch off Karsay to bring home Castilla with the go-ahead run.

"It felt really good to get that one that won the game," Tyner said. "We had so many chances and it was up to somebody to get a two-out hit. Then we got four in a row."

Roberto Alomar drove in two runs and Wil Cordero hit an RBI triple for the Indians, who will open a three-game series against AL Central-leading Chicago on Friday.

Colon, who was forced to leave his previous start in the sixth inning with inflammation in his shoulder, worked his way out of some sticky spots and seemed to get stronger as the game went on.

He allowed 10 hits, walked one and struck out six.

Colon gave up a single to Gerald Williams on his first pitch, a line drive to left that drew a gasp from a sellout crowd that probably was wondering if the Indians' ace might be more seriously injured.

But whenever Colon was in trouble, he had enough to handle the Devil Rays -- until the seventh.

The Devil Rays left the bases loaded in the second, and failed to score in the fourth when Williams lined to center with two on.

Colon was again in trouble in the fifth, but struck out Vaughn and got Castilla to bounce into a force. It looked like Colon might escape the seventh, too, when he got two outs after putting the first two on.

But Vaughn's RBI single made it 3-1, and Castilla and Huff singled off Karsay, who has a 16.20 ERA in his last seven appearances.

Alomar, who has been hitting a line drive in almost every at-bat this month, gave the Indians a 2-0 lead in the third with a two-out, two-run single.

Cordero made it 3-0 in the fourth with his triple to right-center.

Game notes
Indians relievers struck out six straight after Tampa Bay's rally. ... During their six-game slide, the Devil Rays gave up 42 runs. ... The Indians finished 8-2 vs. Tampa Bay this season. ... Colon is 3-0 with five no-decisions since his last loss on July 26. ... Tampa Bay's Kenny Kelly made his major league debut as a pinch-runner in the seventh. ... Alomar is batting .361 (22-of-61) with four homers and 14 RBIs in his last 16 games.

 


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