Payton’s strange run lifts A’s to win over Devil Rays

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Jay Payton scored the winning run from
second base on an error by Aubrey Huff in the bottom of the
ninth inning to lead the Oakland Athletics to a 3-2 win over
the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in American League play on Saturday.

Payton stayed safe at second base as the A’s hit into a
strange 6-4-5-6-4 double play just before Jason Kendall’s
routine grounder went through third baseman Huff’s legs.

“There was nothing I could do there,” Payton told reporters
about the strange play in which went to third base on a ground
ball, then scampered back to second to avoid a triple play.

“I guess we were lucky there was no triple play there. The
bottom line is, you always wait until the umpire rules,” he
added.

Two A’s then wound up standing at second base before the
umpire ruled Payton was safe and there were two outs on the
play.

Four pitches later, Kendall’s grounder led to Huff’s error
and Payton made it home from second with the winning run.

“This is a tough game to describe,” A’s manager Ken Macha
told reporters.

“We had the ‘What’s on second, who’s on first’ kind of
thing. I don’t think this is in any textbook on how to win.”

It was an important win for the A’s (16-14), who moved to
within game of first place Texas in the AL West.

Barry Zito pitched seven strong innings for the A’s,
allowing one run on five hits, striking out three and walking
one. Justin Duchscherer pitched the eighth and Joe Kennedy
(2-0) escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth to get the win.

Chad Orvella (1-3) was tagged with the loss, despite giving
up just one unearned run on one hit in one inning or relief.
Starter Seth McClung pitched 6 1/3 solid innings.

Mark Kotsay and Payton both had two hits and drove in a run
for Oakland.

Russell Branyan and Greg Norton hit solo home runs to
account for the Devil Rays scoring.

In Boston, Tim Wakefield pitched six strong innings as the
Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles for the 10th straight time,
9-3.

Wakefield (2-4) allowed three runs on seven hits with three
strikeouts and two walks. Manny Ramirez homered and drove in
two runs and Willy Mo Pena and Alex Gonzalez had two hits each
and drove in two runs for Boston, who stayed tied for first in
the AL East with the New York Yankees.

Erik Bedard (4-2) lasted just two innings, allowing six
runs — five earned — on seven hits with two strikeouts and
three walks.

Chris Gomez hit a two-run homer for Boston.

In Arlington, Shawn Chacon won his fourth game and Alex
Rodriguez hit a three-run homer as the Yankees beat the Texas
Rangers 6-1. Jason Giambi also homered for New York.

(Writing by Roger Lajoie in Toronto)