A loss to turn the hair gray

WHITE SOX 11, RAYS 3: Three-game streak ends decisively as Jason Standridge can't get out of third.

ST. PETERSBURG - Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella went public with his new blond hairdo a little earlier than he hoped Sunday afternoon.

Just 45 minutes into the game against the White Sox, Piniella had to make the slow walk to the mound to remove starting pitcher Jason Standridge. By that time, he probably was ready to pull out most of his hair anyway.

The White Sox jumped all over Standridge, scoring eight in the first three innings, on their way to an 11-3 victory before 11,683 at Tropicana Field.

"We just got whomped up," Piniella said.

After winning three in a row, compelling Piniella to dye his hair, the Rays had their longest winning streak of the season snapped, and they probably gave the Rays skipper a few gray hairs to mingle in with the blond during their dismal performance. Standridge could not get out of the third inning as the White Sox ran up an 8-0 lead.

"Jason really didn't have good stuff," Piniella said. "Jason was all over the place. His location wasn't good. He was up with the ball. He didn't have good velocity. This was his worst start of the year, by far."

Standridge went into the game with an 0-3 record, but he had given up three runs or fewer in four of his five starts. Tuesday against Boston, he allowed only one run.

But the White Sox hit Standridge like they knew what pitches were coming.

"I just stunk out there," Standridge said. "I made bad pitches, stayed behind the hitters for the short amount of time I was out there. They were hitting everything I was throwing up there."

Standridge said he learned one thing in Sunday's effort: "Yeah, not to pitch like that again."

The only bright spot for the Rays was Carl Crawford, who went 3-for-3 with three RBIs. The other glass-half-full news was that Carlos Reyes pitched the final seven innings so the Rays didn't have to blow up the bullpen.

"This is the kind of attack we were looking for," said White Sox manager Jerry Manuel, whose team was in danger of being swept by the last-place Rays. Maybe the lone victory was enough for him to take a playful shot at the Rays.

Asked if he would dye his hair if the White Sox won three consecutive games, Manuel said, "If they give me 10, I'll do something. I'll surprise them. They have to go 10. I have a 10(-game) group, not a three(-game) group."

That aside, the Rays were pleased with their 6-7 homestand against the Yankees, Braves, Red Sox and White Sox, and especially so after starting the homestand 1-4 and 2-5.

"I thought we played good baseball," Piniella said. "We pitched well, we played very good defensively, we got just enough hitting. I'd like to play that way the rest of the year. I was very pleased."

The homestand ended with the Rays taking two of three against both Boston and Chicago, so Piniella wasn't in a sour mood despite Sunday's blowout loss.

"We talked about these things happening from time to time, and they are going to happen from time to time, us getting roughed up," Piniella said. "Nobody wants to see it. It's a matter of life. ... It happens to every team. It doesn't just happen to Tampa Bay."