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Tampa Bay Rays rally past Atlanta Braves

By Greg Auman, The Sports Xchange
Tampa Bay Rays' Evan Longoria. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
Tampa Bay Rays' Evan Longoria. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Down 6-3, the Tampa Bay Rays rallied for six runs in the seventh inning -- four with two outs -- using hustle plays to beat the Atlanta Braves 9-6 for another comeback win on Wednesday at Tropicana Field.

The Rays (58-56) won their fourth straight and completed a two-game mini-sweep, tagging reliever Matt Marksberry for five runs in the big comeback. The Braves (51-63) had built a 6-3 lead, getting a rare four RBIs from shortstop Pedro Ciriaco.

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"Great win. Obviously there was some good, some bad, a little bit of ugly mixed in," said Rays manager Kevin Cash, whose team overcame an early 3-0 deficit for the third time in four games. "If that's not resilient, I'm not sure what is. We battled our way back and we just kept coming."

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Everything changed in the seventh, as the Rays got a ground-rule double from left fielder Grady Sizemore, a single from third baseman Evan Longoria and a double from first baseman James Loney to cut the lead to 6-4. A sacrifice fly from second baseman Logan Forsythe made it 6-5 with the tying run at third base and one out.

Marksberry's wild pitch scored the tying run -- pinch-runner Tim Beckham had tagged up from second on the sacrifice fly -- but the Rays weren't done. Right fielder Brandon Guyer doubled, then scored the go-ahead run when Marksberry missed the bag covering first base after a grounder by center fielder Kevin Kiermaier that could've ended the inning. Instead, his error kept it going and signaled his exit.

"It was a huge play in the game and it's why you always bust it down the line, and sometimes it works out for you," said Kiermaier, whose seventh-inning home run brought the only runs in Tuesday's 2-0 win. "It's the little things like that that we need to do from here on out. We've got a lot of good athletes on this team and we need to force the issue like that."

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Marksberry was replaced by reliever Ryan Kelly, who promptly gave up a two-run home run to catcher Curt Casali. Castali's eighth of the season produced a 9-6 lead.

"Young, inexperienced guys pitching there, and sometimes you don't make a play and give those guys an opportunity to get back in the game, and the inexperience stuff shows," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "It's a box of chocolates sometimes when you go with inexperienced guys in your bullpen."

Reliever Jesus Colome (5-4) earned the win in relief of Rays starter Jake Odorizzi. Jake McGee pitched a scoreless eighth and Brad Boxberger a scoreless ninth for his 29th save. The Rays were 6-39 this season when trailing after six innings.

The Rays scored nine or more runs for just the third time at home this season, while the Braves gave up nine or more for the 12th time this season, including eight road games.

Two hits by Braves shortstop Pedro Ciriaco, hitting ninth in the batting order, helped the Braves to a 4-1 lead. One of the hits was a solo home run -- his first since 2013 -- in the top of the fifth. He added a sacrifice fly for a fourth RBI -- he had totaled one RBI in his previous 50 at-bats before Wednesday's game.

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"He gets to play every once in a while and he always comes up big," Gonzalez said. "He's a nice player to have who can play multiple positions."

Four hits propelled the Braves to a 3-0 lead in the second inning, with first baseman Joey Terdoslavich hitting an RBI double with two outs. Ciriaco then added a two-run single, the inning ending when he was thrown out trying to reach second. Catcher A.J. Pierzynski and third baseman Adonis Garcia singled to start the inning.

The Rays cut the lead to 3-1 in the second when Kiermaier grounded out with the bases loaded. Tampa Bay just missed a chance at the lead when Casali hit a shot to the warning track in left field with two runners on to end the inning.

Ciriaco's home run off Odorizzi made it 4-1 in the fifth, but the Rays pulled within 4-2 in the bottom of the inning when Sizemore hit a home run off the "C-ring" catwalk in the roof of Tropicana Field.

NOTES: The Rays made some roster adjustments after the game, optioning OF Joey Butler to Triple-A Durham and activating OF Desmond Jennings, who has been out since May 3 with a knee injury. Butler was a surprise success in the first two months of the season, but had seen his average drop from the .340s to .278 and was playing sparingly. ... Braves RHP Williams Perez on Tuesday became the team's first rookie to throw a complete game since 2008, when Jorge Campillo did it. Perez, who pitched eight innings in a 2-0 loss, did so with just 92 pitches, the fewest by a Braves pitcher in a complete game since Greg Maddux with an 89-pitch gem in 2000.

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