Walk-Off Bunt Just Another Weapon For Rays As Tampa Wins In 11

St. Petersburg, FL (Sports Network) - Jason Bartlett executed a perfect safety squeeze to score John Jaso in the 11th inning, and the Tampa Bay Rays scratched together a 4-3 win over the Cleveland Indians in the first of two games at Tropicana Field.

After Andy Sonnanstine (1-0) threw a perfect top of the 11th, Jaso reached first on a one-out infield single. Jaso was able to move to third on Gabe Kapler's single through the right side of the infield, setting up Bartlett's play to win the game. Jamey Wright (1-2) tried to flip the ball to catcher Mike Redmond with his glove, but the ball sailed well over Redmond's head.

"Kapler hitting that ball to right field and getting me over to third base and Bartlett executing that bunt right there, it was huge," Jaso said. "In close games like we're having, those little baseball plays pay off."

Carl Crawford finished the game with a double, triple and two runs scored for the red-hot Rays, who have won five of six and have the majors' best record at 27-11. Hank Blalock finished 2-for-5 with an RBI in the win, Tampa Bay's first in its last five games against the Indians.

Jeff Niemann pitched six-plus innings and allowed three runs on 10 hits and three walks for the Rays.

Jhonny Peralta went 3-for-5 with an RBI for the Indians, who had won five of their last seven. Cleveland lost more than the game on Monday, however, as shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera was carted off the field in the first inning with a broken left forearm after colliding with Peralta on a ground ball. He will meet with doctors in the coming days to determine if surgery is necessary to repair the injury.

Fausto Carmona lasted 6 2/3 innings for Cleveland and yielded two runs and five hits while walking one and fanning seven.

After Niemann tossed a perfect first, the Rays supported him with two runs in the home half.

Ben Zobrist led off with a single and scored on Crawford's triple to center. Evan Longoria followed with an RBI single, but Carmona limited the damage from there.

In the second, Austin Kearns doubled and scored on Peralta's base hit to cut Cleveland's deficit to one, and Luis Valbuena plated Redmond in the fourth with a single to tie the game.

In the sixth, Peralta launched a Niemann pitch off the wall in center, barely beating the relay to third for a one-out triple. Redmond grounded out, but Trevor Crowe singled to center to score Peralta for a 3-2 lead.

Meanwhile, Carmona dominated the Rays following his shaky first. He set down 17 of the next 18 batters, issuing only a fourth-inning walk to B.J. Upton.

Reid Brignac finally got Tampa Bay's first hit since the opening inning with a two-out single in the seventh, and pinch-hitter Willy Aybar reached on a fielding error. Aaron Laffey came on in relief and got Zobrist to line out sharply to third to maintain the one-run lead.

The Rays then rallied to tie it in the eighth. Crawford hit a double off Laffey, and Chris Perez came in and quickly retired the next two hitters. Hank Blalock hit a sinking liner toward center, and Crowe dove to catch it, but the ball popped out of his glove after hitting the ground, which allowed Crawford to score for a 3-3 contest.

"I thought that Fausto threw a real good ball game," said Indians manager Manny Acta. "After that rough first inning, he got it together and pitched an outstanding ball game after that. We were close to making that play in center, but, unfortunately, the ball came out of Crowe's glove."

Niemann has allowed three or fewer runs in all eight starts this season...The Indians have 10 or more hits in seven of their last eight games...Cleveland is 4-15 this season when it doesn't homer and 2-16 when scoring three or fewer runs...Kearns has reached base safely in 24 of 25 games started this season...Despite the win, Tampa Bay is 32-65 all time against the Indians, its worst record against any AL opponent...Sonnanstine earned his first win since June 25, 2009 against Philadelphia...Tampa Bay has played five straight one- run games (4-1)...The Rays have the best 38-game record in baseball since the 2005 White Sox were also 27-11, and Chicago went on to win the World Series that season...Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore sat out the game after bruising his knee on Sunday.