On a night where an unknown Toronto lefty struck out 11 Rays, Matt Garza came up big.

Garza pitched a shutout and Carlos Pena was able to connect for a solo homer off David Purcey, the only run of a Tampa Bay 1-0 win at the Trop Wednesday.

The win was not in the bag by any means as Garza departed, with runners on first and second in the top of the eighth. Grant Balfour came on and was able to strike out Adam Lind with a high fastball.

Dan Wheeler got the save, with the final out a real doozy as it appeared Rod Barajas hit one out. But Justin Ruggiano caught it as he slammed into the left-field wall.

Pena's homer was a no doubter off Purcey in the fourth, but Purcey struck out 10 in the first 4 1/3 innings.

Sadly, Wednesday's crowd was one of the lowest of the year at 12,678.

Garza struck out five including the side in the fifth inning and is 11-7 on the year.

Boston also won Tuesday, walloping the Yankees to stay 3 1/2 games behind the Rays.

The combination of Roy Halladay on the mound and, well, a pathetic crowd made for a largely unexciting night at the Trop Tuesday. It also led to a defeat as Tampa Bay fell 6-2 to the Blue Jays.

Amazingly only 13,478 showed up to support the best team in the American League. Boston beat the Yankees Tuesday to slice the Rays' lead in the East to 3 1/2 games.

The Rays actually had beaten Halladay three times this season and almost pulled out of a 3-0 deficit against him. The Rays loaded the bases on two singles, with Halladay also tossing in a wild pitch and hitting Willy Aybar. Eric Hinske then sliced a single to left making the score 3-2. However Halladay struck out Shawn Riggans to end the threat.

Riggans was pinch-hitting for Dioner Navarro, who left the game with a hamstring injury.

Rod Barajas and Vernon Wells would add solo homers to pad Toronto's lead. The big hit early was a two-run double by Lyle Overbay in the third making the score 3-0.

Halladay is 16-9 on the season with a 2.69 ERA. James Shields took the loss, giving up four runs on nine hits in 6 2/3 innings. Both starters struck out seven.


CHICAGO STEALS SERIES FINALE: Instant replay, anyone?

Granted it should have never come to it, but the Rays got screwed again by the umps on Sunday. Chicago benefitted from a horrible interpretation in the 10th inning and beat the Rays 6-5 to barely avoid a series sweep at U.S. Cellular Field.

With A.J. Pierzynski on second base and one out Jermaine Dye hit a grounder to short. Pierzynski got caught in a rundown and the Rays had him to rights, when Pierzynski out of desperation leaned into Willy Aybar after Aybar tossed the ball. On the play Aybar properly veered to his left to avoid contact, but Pierzynski -- looking back at Aybar instead of to the base he was trying to get to -- clearly and on purpose ran into Aybar, then fell down equally on purpose to make it look like he was interfered with.

The umpire Doug Eddings, who to his credit might have had a plane to catch, bought it all the way and awarded Pierzynski third base.

It might have been the worst call ever, but naturally the umpiring crew would not admit it. Here's what third-base ump Ted Barrett said: "As a runner, you’re allowed to do that,” referring to initiating contact, which Barrett acknowledged Pierzynski did. " “What Doug ruled at second base was, even though A.J. did kind of stick his arm out to make contact, Aybar was still in his way. So A.J., if he would have turned, he wouldn’t have been able to continue on to third. So after making the throw, Aybar is no longer in the act of fielding and he can’t obstruct the runner, which is what Doug ruled happened. And in a rundown, even though A.J. was going back to second, the rule of obstruction during a rundown is he gets his next advanced base and that’s why he was rewarded third base."

Barrett further explained that if Aybar had the ball still, it would have been an out. (Editors note: Uh, yeah, if he'd have had the ball and Pierzynski ran into him no kidding do you think Aybar might have tagged him).

Instead of two outs and a man on first, it was runners on the corners with one out. The Rays intentionally loaded the bases and brought B.J. Upton in for a fifth infielder, but Alexei Ramirez poked a single into vacant right field and the White Sox won.

Pierzynski even had a bit of a "yeah I know I got away with it" smile on his face as he came home on the play.

Then on Monday the catcher smugly said "it was the right call (no explanation), the right play.. whatever."

To Pierzynski's credit he did advance to second with some heads-up baserunning on a flyball to center -- where B.J. Upton casually tosed the ball back in thinking the runner could not move up.

Tampa Bay's lead in the AL East went back to 4 1/2 games as Boston won Sunday, also 6-5 in extra innings.

The entire awful ending should have been avoided. Chicago tied the game in the bottom of the ninth on a hit by Paul Konerko. Pinch-runner Brian Anderson should have been thrown out by 10 feet, but Ben Zobrist's bouncing throw to home skipped away off catcher Shawn Riggans' chestpad. Dan Wheeler was trying to save all three games of the series but Ken Griffey doubled and Wheeler got the blown save.

Rocco Baldelli homered for the second time in the series as Tampa Bay built a 3-0 lead. The White Sox went ahead on two-run homers by Carlos Quentin and Jim Thome in the fourth.

But the Rays would tie it in the sixth when Carlos Pena had a bunt single, Baldelli doubled and Orlando Cabrera made an error on Willy Aybar's grounder.

Tampa Bay went ahead 5-4 in the seventh when Pena doubled in Bartlett.


RAYS COME BACK SATURDAY: The FOX national broadcast was extremely favorable to the Rays on Saturday, and this was even before they had the lead. But a dramatic eighth-inning rally only added to the exposure, all of it positive.

With four runs in the eighth the Rays defeated the White Sox 5-3 Saturday.

Carlos Pena's two-run single to right broke a 3-3 tie after the Rays had pulled even in the eighth. Javier Vazquez, who had a perfect game going into the sixth, had a 3-1 lead but Dioner Navarro, Gabe Gross and Jason Bartlett started the eighth with consecutive singles.

Aki Iwamura then came up with an incredible walk if there is such a thing. Against lefty Matt Thornton, who Iwamura was 0-for-5 with four strikeouts against, Iwamura fouled off seven straight 3-2 pitches before taking ball four high. That made the score 3-2, and B.J. Upton's grounder up the middle became an infield single when it took a tough hop on shortstop Orlando Cabrera.