Sep 16, 2007, 4:37 GMT
Seattle, WA - Jonny Gomes went 4-for-4 with two RBI, helping the Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Seattle Mariners, 6-2, at Safeco Field.
Delmon Young also had two hits, knocked in a pair and scored a run for the Devil Rays, who ended a four-game losing streak. Brendan Harris added a solo homer and Carl Crawford finished 4- for-5 with a run scored.
Scott Kazmir (13-8) allowed an unearned run and three hits, with two walks and 11 strikeouts over six innings to win his fourth straight decision for Tampa Bay.
'Tonight his fastball was exceptional, it was exploding right at the end,' Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. 'I've not seen him throw that hard that consistently. I was really impressed with his fastball, his strike throwing. That was his best fastball of the year.'
Raul Ibanez homered for the Mariners, whose slim playoff hopes continue to fade. The club had a three-game win streak snapped but remain 5 1/2 games behind the Yankees in the AL wild card race after New York lost to Boston on Saturday.
Horacio Ramirez (8-7) had a disastrous start, allowing four runs and three hits with one walk in the first inning while failing to record an out. Ramirez has now lost his last three starts and is winless in his last five outings, raising his ERA to 7.16.
'You cant get behind five-nothing everyday,' Seattle manager John McLaren said. 'You just can't do it. We tried to come back and just weren't able to do it. Horacio (Ramirez) just couldn't break loose, couldn't get his location. We try to give our guys a chance to work their was out of it, but we just dont have that luxury any more. We're fighting an uphill battle here.'
The Devil Rays scored four times in the first, chasing Ramirez after just four batters. Akinori Iwamura and Crawford singled to open the game before Carlos Pena walked to load the bases. BJ Upton's single scored Iwamura, ending Ramirez's night after 20 pitches.
Jorge Campillo entered the game and allowed a two-run single to Young before inducing a double-play ground ball off the bat of Harris. Campillo couldn't limit the damage, however, as Gomes' single to left plated Upton to make it 4-0.
Gomes added an RBI double in the third, and a lead-off homer by Harris in the fifth gave the Rays a six-run cushion.
The Mariners cut it to 6-1 in the fifth when Jose Vidro singled, went first- to-third when Yuniesky Betancourt reached on Pena's fielding error and scored on Adam Jones' grounder to second.
Ibanez hit a lead-off homer against Juan Salas in the ninth to make it 6-2, and Kenji Johjima followed with a walk. Vidro flied out, but Salas was replaced by Al Reyes, who got Betancourt to fly out before fanning Jones to end the game.
Game Notes
Kazmir improved to 3-0 lifetime against the Mariners in five starts with a 1.53 ERA. He is also 6-1 over his last 10 starts...Seattle had just four hits in the ballgame, while the Devil Rays pounded out 14...Gomes' four hits tied a career high...Crawford had a stolen base in the game, making him the 23rd player since 1900 to have four 50-steal seasons.
© 2007 The Sports Network
Game Notes.
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