Pena's franchise best seven RBI lead D-Rays past O's

Baseball Betting Lines

09/06/2007 - St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Pena continued his amazing season for Tampa Bay with a pair of homers, including a grand slam, and a franchise-record seven RBI, as the Devil Rays destroyed Baltimore, 17-2, in the finale of a three-game series from Tropicana Field.

Delmon Young belted a three-run homer, while Brendan Harris and Jonny Gomes added solo shots for the Devil Rays, who had a season-high 22 hits and won for the seventh time in nine contests. Josh Wilson had four hits for the Rays, who have been a scoring machine in that span with 81 runs.

Young finished with four RBI for the Devil Rays, who set a couple of records and fell shy of two others. Their 40 total bases and 15-run margin of victory are new records. Their high-water mark for runs in a game is 19, last accomplished July 29, 2006 at Yankee Stadium. The team record for hits is 24, at Toronto on June 24, 2004.

Pena has 37 homers this season, extending a franchise record. His slam highlighted an eight-run fourth inning, a frame in which Tampa Bay hit three homers. Pena pounded a two-run homer in the sixth inning for his seventh run batted in, eclipsing Paul Sorrento's previous team record of six RBI at Cleveland on May 3, 1998. Pena has a career-best 105 RBI this year.

Andy Sonnanstine (5-9) gave up nine hits and two runs over six innings, fanning six, to win his third consecutive start.

Carl Crawford, playing on appeal of a two-game suspension handed to him by Major League Baseball earlier in the day, had three hits, an RBI, two runs scored, and stole his AL-leading 47th base.

Radhames Liz (0-2), in his third major league start, surrendered six hits and four runs through 1 2/3 innings. Rob Bell, whose contract was purchased from Triple-A Norfolk before the game, was tagged for seven hits and six runs over 1 1/3 frames.

Pinch-Hitter Tike Redman doubled in two runs for the Orioles, who have lost 13 of their last 15 games, a stretch that began with a major-league record- setting 30-3 loss to Texas in the first game of a doubleheader on August 22.

Liz took a ball off his left calf from the first batter of the game, Akinori Iwamura. B.J. Upton doubled off the wall in left field for the game's first run, and Pena, who had walked, scored on a Young groundout.

Iwamura singled in a run in the second, and Pena's sacrifice fly to right later in the frame pushed the lead to 4-0.

Harris doubled and scored on a Dioner Navarro base hit in the third, before the Rays exploded in the next inning with eight runs. Young smacked his 11th homer of the year to left field, and just two pitches later Harris connected off Bell, sending a ball over the wall in center. After loading the bases, Pena drilled his fifth-career slam, a drive to right off Fernando Cabrera, for a 13-0 lead.

Redman's double got the Orioles on the scoreboard in the next inning, but Crawford doubled in a run and came home on another long ball by Pena in the sixth, this one a blast to right off Brian Burres.

Gomes homered to center with one out in the seventh.

Game Notes

The 17 runs and 22 hits are new records for the Rays at Tropicana Field...Orioles catcher Paul Bako was ejected by home plate umpire Chad Fairchild in the fifth inning for arguing balls and strikes...The Orioles won the season series, 11-7, but Tampa Bay won five of the final six matchups. This is the fourth straight season Baltimore has posted at least 11 wins versus the Rays...Jorge Cantu holds the Rays record for RBI in a season with 117 in 2005...Pena has 11 homers in his last 17 games after a season-long 13- game homerless streak...Pena has 18 homers at Tropicana Field this year, tying Fred McGriff (1999) and Ty Wigginton (2006) for most in one home season for the Rays...Young has 79 RBI, a new Rays rookie record...Before the game, the Orioles also released pitcher Paul Shuey. To make room for Bell on the 40-man roster, pitcher Sendy Rleal was designated for assignment...Baltimore starts a four-game series at home against Boston Friday, while Tampa Bay hosts Toronto for three this weekend.