Slumping Rays lose AL East lead with loss to Indians

NEW YORK: The reeling Tampa Bay Rays lost their seventh successive game and their lead in the American League (AL) East division with a 5-2 loss to the Cleveland Indians on Sunday.

The Rays now trail the Boston Red Sox by half a game in the division heading into the all-star break.

The Rays' seven-game slide comes straight after a seven-game winning streak put them five games ahead of Boston.

"We totally massacred our seven-game winning streak," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon told reporters. "We have to do a better job on the road.

"This is six losses in a row on the road. We just have to do a better job on the road. We're two different teams."

Tampa is 36-14 at home and 19-25 on the road.

Maddon said he would not panic, though his young team appeared to be feeling the pressure of their unexpected success this season. Tampa Bay won just 66 games in 2007.

"I do feel good about that group," he said. "I will always feel good about that group."

Five Cleveland pitchers held the Rays to just three hits, with Tom Mastny (1-2) getting the win.

Jhonny Peralta hit a two-run homer and drove in another run for the Indians while Andy Marte also homered.

Scott Kazmir (7-5) gave up five runs on eight hits over six innings and took the loss, as the Indians (41-53) won their fourth successive game.

"It has been a great first half," Kazmir said. "There are going to be times like this in the season where we're going to go through a bump, a slow stage.

"We've just got to be able to bounce back. Today, we were looking to do that, but it didn't happen. This next half, we have to put it behind us and get us back on track."

Boston took over first place with a 2-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles, as Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched six shutout innings to improve to 10-1 on the season.

Agencies

(China Daily 07/15/2008 page24)