Crawford's grand slam helps Rays sweep Cubs

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Cubs had been the only team in the majors that hadn't lost more than two games in a row this season.

It looked as though it would remain that way when they chased Rays starter James Shields and took a 3-1 lead in the seventh inning Thursday night.

But reliever Carlos Marmol (1-2) opened the door for Tampa Bay's biggest inning of the season by walking the first two batters he faced, then hitting the next two with pitches to force in a run and depart with the bases loaded.

Before the inning was over, the Rays had 7 runs en route to an 8-3 victory and a three-game sweep of the Cubs.

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"He's been extremely reliable. This sort of came out of nowhere," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said of Marmol. "What are you going to do?"

Maybe what those who follow major-league baseball can do is stop calling the Rays surprising.

Carl Crawford sure thinks so after his second career grand slam, the big blow in seventh-inning rally.

"We've been playing good," Crawford said. "After winning three games like this, it's going to be hard to argue that we're not one of the good teams in the league."

At 43-29, the Rays have the third-best record in the majors behind the Cubs and the Boston Red Sox. They're 14 games over .500 for the first time in franchise history and have set a club record for victories before the all-star break.

Crawford hit the second pitch from Scott Eyre, who replaced Marmol, into the right-field stands, putting Tampa Bay ahead 6-3.

And the Rays weren't finished. B.J. Upton tripled and scored on Eric Hinske's double, then Hinske stole third and trotted home on Evan Longoria's sacrifice fly.

"It's just been a struggle. We've got to piece it together, and we've got to keep our heads up and keep going," said Piniella, whose team returns home today for the start of a weekend series against the cross-town rival White Sox.

The Cubs are 3-4 since Alfonso Soriano went on the 15-day disabled list with a broken hand but remain 3#189; games ahead of second-place St. Louis in the NL Central because the Cardinals dropped their third straight to Kansas City on Thursday.

"We haven't been in a bad spell all year," Piniella said. "Well, we're in one right now, and hopefully at home it will cure it and we go forward."

Sean Gallagher pitched 6 strong innings for the Cubs, allowing an unearned run and 4 hits before the bullpen let the game get away. Mike Fontenot hit an RBI double off Shields, and run-scoring singles by Kosuke Fukudome and Ryan Theriot put the Cubs ahead 3-1.

Shields, returning from a six-game suspension for his role in a bench-clearing brawl at Boston on June 5, allowed 3 runs and 7 hits in 6#189; innings. He walked two and matched a season high with 9 strikeouts.

Rays 8, Cubs 3

On the mound: At least starter Sean Gallagher came through, working 6 innings and allowing only 1 run, which was unearned. Losing pitcher Carlos Marmol (2 walks, 2 hit batters, 4 runs) and Scott Eyre (4 hits and 3 runs) combined to pitch only a third of an inning.

At the plate: Derrek Lee went 3-for-4 and Micah Hoffpauir, had 2 hits, including a double.