ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Matt Garza pitched eight effective innings, Kelly Shoppach came within a triple of hitting for the cycle and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the San Diego Padres 5-3 on Thursday.
Garza (8-5) gave up three runs and six hits to rebound from a loss last Friday to Florida in which the right-hander allowed seven runs in 1 1-3 innings.
Tampa Bay also got home runs from B.J. Upton and Carlos Pena. Rafael Soriano pitched the ninth for his 17th save.
Oscar Salazar homered for the Padres, who won two of three in the interleague series. Wade LeBlanc (4-5) allowed four runs and 11 hits in 5 1-3 innings.
Tampa Bay All-Star left fielder Carl Crawford left after the second inning due to left shoulder soreness. Other details regarding Crawford's injury were not immediately available.
After Willy Aybar got Tampa Bay even at 3 with a two-run single in the fifth, Shoppach made it 4-3 on his sixth-inning solo shot.
Pena extended the Rays advantage to 5-3 on his homer during the seventh.
San Diego took a 3-1 lead during the second on an RBI single by Jerry Hairston Jr. and Salazar's two-run shot.
Upton put the Rays up 1-0 with a leadoff homer in the first. He had not gone deep in his previous 81 at-bats, dating back to May 29.
Rays manager Joe Maddon was ejected in the seventh for arguing a balk called against Garza. Maddon went to the mound after the play and waited until second base umpire Gary Cederstrom, who made the call, and plate umpire Fieldin Culbreth approached to break up the meeting. Maddon, while looking at Garza, then made comments apparently intended for Cederstrom and was thrown out.
Tampa Bay's James Shields was called for a balk in Wednesday night's 5-4 loss to the Padres.
NOTES: San Diego C Yorvit Torrealba served the final game of a three-game suspension for making contact with an umpire. ... Upton's leadoff homer was the third of his career. ... Padres OF Matt Stairs (strained right knee) is taking batting practice and doing light jogging, but is not ready yet to start running hard. ... Tampa Bay OF Gabe Kapler, on the 15-day disabled list with a right hip flexor strain, is set to begin a rehab assignment at Class A Charlotte on Friday.
