Rays on a roll; Tribe falls in 10

Associated Press

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.

The Tampa Bay Rays ended the first half of the season on a roll.

Jason Bartlett hit a game-ending single over a drawn-in outfield in the 10th inning, giving the Rays a 6-5 win over the Cleveland Indians on Sunday.

“It’s a nice way to walk off into the All-Star break,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said.

Ben Zobrist opened the 10th with a single off Kerry Wood (1-4) and later was forced out at second on Carl Crawford’s grounder. After Crawford stole second, Evan Longoria was intentionally walked. Bartlett then won it with a long single to right center on an 1-2 pitch.

“He’s a strikeout pitcher, so I was just trying to battle, put the bat on the ball,” Bartlett said.

Crawford homered for the Rays, who are 9-2 in July after going 11-14 during June. Andy Sonnanstine (2-0) pitched a perfect 10th.

Cleveland got two RBIs from Austin Kearns. The Indians, who walked 10 batters Sunday, lost three of four in the series and are 17-32 on the road this season.

“We battled really hard against this good ballclub,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “You can’t be expecting to walk 10 people and stay in the game. You have to work some magic just to not get buried.”