ARLINGTON, Texas, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Aubrey Huff had three hits and two RBI and Steve Cox homered Friday night as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays fought off the Texas Rangers, 9-7.
The game lasted more than four hours.
The Devil Rays have one of the worst offenses in the American League but exploded against the Rangers' equally bad pitching. Four players had at least three hits as Tampa Bay totaled 17 -- just four for extra bases.
The Devil Rays had a pair of five-run leads before Texas scored five times in the fourth to forge a 7-7 tie.
Andy Sheets, who collected three hits, opened the fifth inning with a single and scored on rookie Carl Crawford's two-out triple off Juan Alvarez. Huff followed with a single for a 9-7 edge.
Tampa Bay's bullpen held Texas hitless over the final three innings as the Devil Rays won for just the third time in 10 games.
Travis Harper (1-2) got his first victory of the season, despite allowing one run in 1 2/3 innings. Esteban Yan worked the final two innings for his 16th save in 23 chances.
Texas' Todd Van Poppel (2-1) lost for the first time since May 15, 2001. He surrendered two runs and three hits while striking out five in 2 2/3 innings.
