The Tampa Bay Rays (18-22) knocked off the Kansas City Royals (13-29) 6-5 on Tuesday night in Kansas City.
The Rays struck with a huge three-run first inning, and added a run in the fourth. However, the Royals were not done, and tied the game at 5-5 in the bottom of the seventh to create a brand new ballgame. Tampa Bay struck the dagger in the top of the ninth inning when Joey Wendle came up with the game-winning RBI and the Rays got a 6-5 win that clinched the victory in the series.
Anthony Banda was solid making his debut as a starter for the Rays - he pitched five innings while allowing three runs, all of them earned on six hits while striking out one and walking none. Johnny Venters (1-0, 1.42) got the win for the Rays after pitching two-thirds of a scoreless eighth inning. Alex Colome got the save with a scoreless ninth in which he allowed one hit.
The Rays now look for a sweep of their series against the Royals on Wednesday - first pitch is set for 2:10, and pregame coverage begins at 1:30 on 620 WDAE and 95.3 FM, your home of the Rays.