ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Evan Longoria is not letting a hitting slump affect his defense.
The All-Star third baseman turned Miguel Cabrera’s bases-loaded grounder behind the bag into a nifty game-ending double play as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Detroit Tigers 3-2 on Tuesday night.
“There’s not many guys that would have made the play Longoria made,” Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. “He made a great play. He’s unbelievably accurate throwing to second base for double plays.”
Rays closer Rafael Soriano struggled in the ninth before getting his 27th save. After loading the bases with one out, he induced the grounder from Cabrera that set up Longoria’s key play.
“I was hoping he’d hit it a little harder so I didn’t have to make such a split-second decision,” Longoria said. “Once I fielded it I figured I got it in enough time that I could hopefully get the guy at second and we could turn it. I’m glad it worked out the way it did.”
Longoria is hitless over his last 18 at-bats and has just two homers in the last 31 games.
“That’s what I love about our guys. That fearless aspect about the way we play,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. “Longo’s not worried about making a mistake. That’s where the fearless aspect comes in. If you’re not concerned about making a mistake, you do what Longo did. If you’re worried about making a mistake, you take the safe way out.”
James Shields (9-9) gave up two runs and nine hits over 6 2/3 innings one day after teammate Matt Garza threw the Rays’ first no-hitter.
Tampa Bay went up 3-2 when Joyce, who hit a grand slam Monday, had a broken-bat run-scoring double off Justin Verlander (12-6) during the sixth.
“That’s tough. I made the pitch I wanted to,” said Verlander, who is 7-2 in his last nine decisions. “I got the result, I jammed him. He got enough barrel on it, hit in the right spot and was able to get a bloop double.”
Verlander allowed three runs and five hits in his second complete game of the season.
INDIANS 4, YANKEES 1: Cleveland’s Josh Tomlin took a shutout into the eighth inning against Alex Rodriguez and the visiting Yankees to win his major league debut.
Getting one more chance at hitting his 600th homer with two outs in the ninth inning, Rodriguez grounded into a forceout to shortstop to end the game. A-Rod went 0 for 4 on his 35th birthday.
The 25-year-old Tomlin outpitched former Indians ace CC Sabathia (13-4), handing the left-hander his first loss in 12 starts since May 23.
BLUE JAYS 8, ORIOLES 2: Jose Bautista hit two home runs, giving him a major league-leading 30, Ricky Romero pitched 7 2/3 strong innings and host Toronto posted its 11th straight win over Baltimore.
It was the fifth multihomer game of the season for Bautista, who has connected in three straight and leads the AL with 10 in July.
RANGERS 3, ATHLETICS 1, 10 inn.: Nelson Cruz hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th to lift host Texas after starter Cliff Lee struck out a career-high 13 and scattered five hits in a nine-inning no-decision.
With the game tied at 1, Josh Hamilton drew a one-out walk off Michael Wertz (2-2) and Cruz followed by lofting a 1-1 pitch high into the left-field seats.
TWINS 11, ROYALS 2: Danny Valencia drove in three runs, and Carl Pavano won his eighth straight decision as visiting Minnesota completed the worst three-game pitching span in Kansas City history.
In their last three games, the Royals have been beaten 12-6 by the Yankees and 19-1 and 11-2 by the Twins, snapping the team record of 40 runs allowed in three consecutive games. The 53 hits allowed are a team record for three consecutive games.
