MIAMI (AP) — B.J. Upton and Reid Brignac each drew bases-loaded walks in a four-run 11th inning against Jorge Sosa, and the Tampa Bay Rays endured a buzzing symphony of 15,000 air horns and a slew of bizarre late-inning occurrences to beat the Florida Marlins 9-8 on Saturday night.
Carl Crawford had four hits and scored three runs for the Rays, who — perhaps fittingly on horn night — blew a 5-2 lead in the eighth.
James Shields (6-6), making the first relief appearance of his 133-game career, threw a scoreless 10th for Tampa Bay and was one of nine pitchers the Rays used in the 4-hour, 36-minute contest.
Tampa Bay (42-26) remained tied with the New York Yankees for the AL East lead and baseball’s best record.
