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By MARC TOPKIN, Times Staff WriterORIOLES 5, RAYS 4 (10): Tampa Bay blows a 4-0 lead thanks to a ball that rolls through Jared Sandberg's legs and a Tony Batista blast.
BALTIMORE - The Devil Rays have gotten better. And they've learned how to play in close games. But they still make mistakes that allow some to slip away.
Thursday, it was a ball that slipped through third baseman Jared Sandberg's legs, allowing the Orioles to tie in the eighth and win 5-4 on Tony Batista's homer in the 10th.
It was the third time on the seven-game road trip the Rays lost on the final pitch, and it was their major-league-high 19th walkoff game of the year.
"That's a game we've got to have," Sandberg said. "We're on a good streak right now and Chad (Gaudin) pitched really well. I've got to make that play."
The Rays carried a 4-0 lead into the seventh thanks to a solid outing by Gaudin, the 20-year-old rookie, and some give-and-take by rightfielder Aubrey Huff, who robbed Jay Gibbons with a spectacular over-the-wall catch in the fourth and the next inning hit a monstrous home run.
But Gaudin ran into trouble in the seventh, giving up two runs despite a decent rescue by Brandon Backe. And the Orioles tied in the eighth, taking advantage of the error by Sandberg, who earlier homered for the third straight game.
Down 4-2, the Baltimore rally started with B.J. Surhoff's leadoff walk from Mark Malaska, and a single and two groundouts made it 4-3. With men on first and second and Jesus Colome on the mound, Deivi Cruz hit a routine inning-ending grounder to third. But Sandberg was playing too deep and was caught between hops, the ball bouncing through his legs, allowing Jeff Conine to score the tying run.
"I was trying to knock it down but it kicked up," Sandberg said. "I felt like I did everything I could to keep it in front of me. I knock it down, keep it in front of me and get my hands on the ball, we win the game."
As glaring as the error was, Rays manager Lou Piniella seemed just as upset at the leadoff walk, one of their major-league-high 514 free passes.
"We've worked at our pitching here all year and the area we've got to improve most is that specific area there: the walk column," Piniella said. "The rest of it's coming along pretty nicely."
The end came pretty quickly with Batista, 5-for-9 with two homers off Colome, blasting a 1-and-0 fastball into the leftfield seats.
Gaudin, the youngest pitcher in the majors, did much better than in his first start Saturday. He was more relaxed, more in control and more successful.
Gaudin held the Orioles scoreless until the seventh, didn't walk a batter and scattered the eight hits he allowed enough to stay out of trouble, retiring nine straight and 12 of 14 in one stretch.
"He gave a real good account for himself," Piniella said.
"I had a better feeling going out there, a better idea," Gaudin said. "I'm a lot more pleased. But I'm still not where I want to be."
Huff took a little more satisfaction in the catch, the first time he'd made one like that, than the home run, his 21st of the season but second of the month.
"I was going to play it off the wall but at the last second decided to jump for it," Huff said. "Those kind of plays you don't even know what you're doing."
With one on and one out in the fifth, Huff crushed a 3-and-0 pitch from Jason Johnson a (conservatively) estimated 414 feet, the ball carrying over the rightfield wall and seating area and onto adjacent Eutaw Street. It was the 32nd ball in the 12-season history of Camden Yards to make it that far.