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DONE IN BY ONE TOO MANY WALKS

The 11th of the game scores the winner in a mistake-filled night.
 
Published May 11, 2011|Updated May 11, 2011

The Rays did a lot to try to win Tuesday's rain-delayed game against the Indians, rallying three times to even the score.

But they did even more to lose it, from a rough start by Ohio native Andy Sonnanstine to a worse ending, Kyle Farnsworth walking Michael Brantley to force in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth to seal the 5-4 walkoff walk defeat.

That was the season-high 11th walk of the night for the Rays, who also made a pair of defensive miscues that allowed a pair of runs to score in the sixth and missed several signs at key moments.

"Too many walks," manager Joe Maddon said. "And we made some mistakes that bit us tonight, mistakes we normally don't make."

The loss dropped the Rays to 20-15 and out of first place, and it snapped their team record-matching eight-game road winning streak.

The final inning didn't start well, as Joel Peralta walked Shin-Soo Choo on four straight balls then fell behind Carlos Santana, who eventually singled, sending Choo to third.

Maddon tried to manage the Rays out of the mess, intentionally walking Travis Hafner to load the bases then bringing in Elliot Johnson to switch to the five-man infield. They got one out when Reid Brignac made a leaping stab and fired to the plate.

But Farnsworth went to a full count on Brantley then threw the deciding pitch.

"It was a fastball, and I threw it in the dirt," Farnsworth said. "It's just one of those things. You just got to hang with 'em."

The game - delayed 1:35 at the start more by the threat than actual rain - went back and forth.

The Indians took a quick lead, as Grady Sizemore knocked Sonnanstine's third pitch over the rightfield wall. Matt Joyce, who finished the night leading the AL with a .356 average, called it even with an impressive blast to right in the fourth.

The Indians took the lead back when Sonnanstine allowed another homer to Brantley in the fourth, and Joyce tied it again in the sixth, this time with a double to left-center that scored Ben Zobrist, who drew a leadoff walk.

The Indians went ahead again with two runs in the sixth when the Rays got a little sloppy, and that was after rookie reliever Brandon Gomes loaded the bases on a single and two walks and Juan Cruz knocked down but couldn't hold on to a liner, getting the force at the plate.

But a ground ball up the middle scored one run, as Zobrist grabbed it but Sean Rodriguez, starting at short, couldn't/didn't cover the base in time. Another scored on a passed ball by John Jaso, though at least it was somewhat amusing as Cruz's pitch bounced up and knocked a ball out of home plate umpire Dale Scott's bag, and it landed closer to the plate than the one Jaso chased after.

The Rays came back and tied it again. Kelly Shoppach had a pinch-hit single and Evan Longoria homered the next inning.

Sonnanstine was making his first start in place of injured Jeff Niemann, and it didn't go well. Sonnanstine didn't last as long as the 1-hour, 35-minute weather delay that pushed first pitch back to 8:40, walking five while allowing two runs on four hits (including two home runs) in just 3 1/3 innings.

And he was fortunate that was all the damage, as the Rays turned a double play to get him out of trouble in the first, and Travis Hafner was just foul on a drive that would have been a three-run homer in the third.

Marc Topkin can be reached at topkin@sptimes.com.