Rays complete sweep, extend O's skid to nine

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Regular Season Series
Baltimore leads 11-7 (as of Thu 8/30)
Mon 4/16	BAL 9, @TB 7	Recap
Tue 4/17	@TB 6, BAL 4	Recap
Wed 4/18	BAL 6, @TB 4	Recap
Tue 5/8	@BAL 8, TB 3	Recap
Wed 5/9	@BAL 1, TB 0	Recap
Thu 5/10	@BAL 11, TB 6	Recap
Tue 7/24	@BAL 3, TB 0	Recap
Wed 7/25	@BAL 6, TB 1	Recap
Thu 7/26	@BAL 10, TB 7	Recap
Fri 8/3	BAL 3, @TB 1	Recap
Sat 8/4	@TB 9, BAL 2	Recap
Sun 8/5	BAL 11, @TB 3	Recap
Tue 8/28	TB 15, @BAL 8	Recap
Wed 8/29	TB 5, @BAL 4	Recap
>Thu 8/30	TB 8, @BAL 6	Box Score
Mon 9/3	@TB 9, BAL 7	Recap
Tue 9/4	BAL 8, @TB 4	Recap
Wed 9/5	@TB 17, BAL 2	Recap
· Complete Schedule: Orioles | Devil Rays

Scoring Summary
			TAM	BAL
	1st	N Markakis homered to center, B Roberts and C Patterson scored.	0	3
	3rd	J Wilson homered to center.	1	3
	3rd	B Upton homered to right, C Crawford and C Pena scored.	4	3
	3rd	K Millar homered to left, M Tejada scored.	4	5
	4th	J Paul sacrificed into fielder's choice to pitcher, B Harris scored, J Wilson to second.	5	5
	6th	C Crawford singled to right, J Wilson scored, A Iwamura to second.	6	5
	8th	A Iwamura homered to right.	7	5
	9th	G Norton hit sacrifice fly to center, B Upton scored, D Young to third.	8	5
	9th	C Patterson doubled to deep left center, T Redman scored.	8	6
· View complete Play-By-Play

Game Information
Stadium	Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD
Attendance	17,546 (36.4% full) - % is based on regular season capacity
Game Time	3:09
Weather	88 degrees, partly cloudy
Wind	3 mph
Umpires	Home Plate - Paul Schrieber, First Base - Fieldin Culbreth, Second Base - Marty Foster, Third Base - Tim Mcclelland

A CLOSER LOOK

• Summary: The Devil Rays completed their first road sweep in more than two years, getting a three-run homer from B.J. Upton to extended the Orioles' losing streak to nine games. Upton • Unsung heroes: Josh Wilson and Akinori Iwamura also homered for the Devil Rays, who trailed in all three games of the series. • Goat: Jeremy Guthrie gave up six runs, five earned, and eight hits in six innings. The rookie went 0-2 in six August starts. • Figure this: Tampa Bay's last road sweep came in Cleveland on Aug. 12-14, 2005, and the Devil Rays hadn't won three straight on the road since September of the same season. • Figure this II: It was the worst 10-game homestand in Orioles history, surpassing a 2-8 mark in September 1987. -- ESPN.com news services

Devil Rays 8, Orioles 6

The Baltimore Orioles couldn't wait to get out of town.

The Devil Rays completed their first road sweep in more than two years, getting a three-run homer from B.J. Upton in an 8-6 victory over Baltimore on Thursday night that extended the Orioles' losing streak to nine games.

Josh Wilson and Akinori Iwamura also homered for the Devil Rays, who trailed in all three games of the series. Tampa Bay's last road sweep came in Cleveland on Aug. 12-14, 2005, and the Devil Rays hadn't won three straight on the road since September of the same season.

"We talked earlier about finishing strong, and certainly to come out and get these three games ... it certainly sets us on the right track," Wilson said as the Devil Rays packed for a trip to Yankee Stadium.

"Now we go into New York," Wilson said, "and hopefully we'll play them tough and get on our way to finishing the season the way we want to and take it into next year."

Nick Markakis and Kevin Millar homered for the Orioles, who won the opener of a 10-game homestand before a 30-3 loss to Texas began the skid on the same day the team announced manager Dave Trembley would return in 2008.

It's enough to make a team want to go to Fenway Park for a three-game series against the AL East-leading Boston Red Sox.

"Yeah, maybe we'll start a winning streak in Boston," Trembley said. "That's the mind-set you've got to have. I don't think there's any other way to look at it. What's done is done."

It was the worst 10-game homestand in Orioles history, surpassing a 2-8 mark in September 1987. Baltimore surrendered 100 runs to Texas, Minnesota and Tampa Bay -- the most the Orioles have ever yielded in a 10-game stretch.

Baltimore has been outscored 98-38 during the nine-game losing streak, which matches a season high. The last time it happened, in mid-June, the Orioles fired manager Sam Perlozzo after the run reached eight.

Although the bullpen has received much of the blame for the current slide, Baltimore failed in the clutch Thursday, going 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

"We had some chances to do some things and blow it open," Trembley said, "and we didn't."

Tampa Bay starter Scott Kazmir (11-8) allowed five runs, four earned, in five innings. He struck out five to raise his single-season club record total to 194.

Al Reyes gave up an RBI double to Corey Patterson in the ninth before finishing up for his 22nd save.

Jeremy Guthrie (7-5) gave up six runs, five earned, and eight hits in six innings. The rookie went 0-2 in six August starts.

Tampa Bay snapped a 5-5 tie in the sixth. Jonny Gomes led off with a double, advanced on an infield hit by Wilson and scored on a two-out single by Carl Crawford.

Iwamura homered off Jim Hoey in the eighth to make it 7-5, and Greg Norton added a sacrifice fly in the ninth. That all but assured the Devil Rays their first three-game sweep in Baltimore; Tampa Bay swept a four-game series at Camden Yards in 1998.

The first three batters to face Kazmir provided the Orioles with a 3-0 lead. Brian Roberts hit a leadoff double, Patterson reached when Kazmir misplayed his bunt, and Markakis hit his 15th homer on an a 2-0 fastball.

"We came out like gangbusters and put three on the board in the first inning and we thought, 'Hey, we're off to the races. We're going to break this thing wide open,' " Trembley said.

But Tampa Bay went ahead with a four-run fourth. Wilson led off with his first major league homer, and Guthrie got two outs before Crawford doubled and Carlos Pena walked. Upton followed with his 21st home run, the fifth in 12 games.

"B.J. totally shifted it back, turned the momentum around and gave us a much better feel about it," Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon said.

Baltimore regained the lead in the bottom half when Millar homered into the fourth row of the left-field seats after a one-out single by Miguel Tejada. The Devil Rays pulled even with an unearned run in the fourth.

Game notes
Crawford's two hits gave him 48 in August. If he gets two in New York on Friday, he will become the 27th player in the last 50 years to get 50 in a single month. ... Baltimore's Melvin Mora hit into his team-high 20th double play. ... Guthrie has allowed at least two homers eight times this season, and is 0-4 in those games.