After Kipnis drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the fourth to ext

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Rays are hopeful that a successful series against Houston is the start of a turnaround. Yunel Escobar drove in two runs during a three-run sixth inning and the Rays beat the Astors 5-2 on Sunday. Escobar hit a two-run single and Sean Rodriguez had an RBI grounder off Dallas Keuchel (8-5) to give the Rays a 4-2 lead in the sixth. The Rays are 8-18 over their past 26 games, including five wins in seven games against Houston. Tampa Bay took three of four in the weekend series. "We won, thats the bottom line," Rays third baseman Evan Longoria said. "Weve got a lot of work to do. We put ourselves in a pretty good hole, but I think that the belief on a daily basis is still we can come to the ballpark and win." Keuchel allowed five runs and nine hits in an eight-inning complete game. It was his third complete game this season. "We did some good things today against a tough pitcher," Longoria said. Dexter Fowler put the Astros up 1-0 when he hit the first pitch of the game from Erik Bedard into the left-field seats. It was his ninth career leadoff homer and third this season. Bedard, who was with Houston last season, gave up two runs and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings. Juan Carlos Oviedo (3-2) got two outs in the sixth for the win. Joel Peralta pitched the ninth for his first save. Rodriguez made it 5-2 on an eighth-inning sacrifice fly. Houston took a 2-1 lead in the third on Jose Altuves single. Jonathan Villar opened the inning with a double, was awarded a steal of third after a replay challenge resulted in an out call being overturned and scored on the hit by Altuve. Altuve has 13 hits in his past 24 at-bats. The Rays tied it at 1 in the bottom of the first on Longorias single Desmond Jennings was caught attempting to steal home with Longoria batting to end the third, a call that was confirmed by a replay review. After catcher Carlos Corporan threw the ball back to Keuchel, Jennings broke for the plate, but was tagged by Corporan after a return throw from Keuchel. "I know he does some uncharacteristic stuff," Kuechel said. "I dont turn my back from the guy on third, so I caught him out of the corner of my eye and just tried to get the ball out as soon as possible." "I still think Desmond was safe," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "I think throughout this whole process, the think thats really standing out to me, Im into replay, I still believe there needs to be a separate group of umpires that are just out there specifically for replay only. That I hope would be the next step in regards to getting this thing nailed down." NOTES: SS Carlos Correa, taken first overall in the 2012 draft by the Astros, left Saturdays game with Class A Lancaster with a right ankle injury, which occurred while sliding. He will go on the disabled list. "Carlos was examined last night at a local hospital in California," Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said. "He will travel to Houston early this week to be evaluated further by the Astros medical staff before determining next steps." ... Rays RHP Alex Cobb (2-5) will go against Pirates RHP Edinson Volquez (4-6) in the opener of a three-game series Monday. ... The Astros are off Monday. ... Houston starts a three-game series Tuesday against Atlanta with RHP Scott Feldman (3-4) and Braves RHP Aaron Harang (5-6) the scheduled starters. ... Three-year old Ireland Nugent, who has been fitted with leg prosthetics after a lawnmower accident, threw the ceremonial first pitch. Abby Smith USA Jersey . After a tight first half, the Croatians took command in Reykjavik after Skulason was dismissed for a professional foul in the 51st minute, but couldnt find a way past Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson and his packed defence. Eduardo had a weak shot cleared away from near the goalline after barely a minute for Croatia, whose substitute Ivica Olic forced a fine reaction save from Halldorsson in the 55th. Abby Dahlkemper Jersey . Or, for that matter, the aged. http://www.officialsocceruswntshop.com/mccall-zerboni-usa-jersey/ .C. -- Ryan Sproul scored the winner late in double overtime to lift the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 2-1 win over the Abbotsford Heat on Friday in Game 1 of their American Hockey League playoff series. Kelley OHara Jersey . Toronto ended an 0-4-0 skid with Sundays shootout win over visiting New Jersey, but the club could have a difficult time making it two victories in a row tonight. The Maple Leafs have dropped three straight and 11 of the last 12 regular- season meetings against Boston overall and the Bruins have claimed six straight in Beantown. Emily Sonnett Jersey . Ribery terrorized the Schalke defence throughout and put the home side ahead in the 36th minute when he chipped the goalkeeper before stroking the ball into the empty net. The French winger struck again after the interval, combining with Thomas Mueller on the left before firing a deflected shot beyond the helpless Timo Hildebrand in the 55th, as Bayern bounced back from Wednesdays 1-0 loss at FC Basel in the Champions League. CHICAGO -- Even though Ryan Raburn hasnt played a lot lately, he certainly didnt look rusty at the plate Thursday night. Many of the Cleveland Indians other hitters were in a groove, too. Raburn went 3 for 3 with a homer and five RBIs, and Cleveland routed the Chicago White Sox 14-3 to remain to 1 1-2 games out of the second AL wild-card spot. Raburn, who has been hampered by nagging right calf and left heel injuries, played in just his third game since Aug. 18. Besides his 16th homer, the right-handed hitting outfielder doubled and scored two runs. "We said coming into the series that Raburn would play a big part because were going to face three lefties," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "He not only gets his, but he gives us a lot of production for a guy that plays maybe half the year or not even that." Raburn, who is 29 for 85 against left-handed pitching, has appeared in 73 of 146 games this season. In his career, Raburn has hit 17 of his 70 homers and driven in 66 of his 267 RBIs against the White Sox. "Hes maintained his swing all year," Francona said. "Its been pretty rare when he did not have his timing or not have his balance. "Hes been really consistent with it, and as a bench player, thats not the easiest thing to do." The Indians blew the game open with a seven-run, rain-delayed fifth inning, when their first nine batters reached base. Charlie Leesman, who relieved Chicago starter John Danks (4-13), faced seven hitters, all of whom scored. Nick Swisher had a solo homer and three RBIs, and Asdrubal Cabrera added a solo shot to support starter Corey Kluber (9-5), who won his second straight start after missing a month with right middle finger sprain. The right-hander gave up two runs and six hits in five innings. "We knew we were going to have to bring some energy today," Swisher said. "We just kind of started it off in the first inning and just continued to keep it going. "Were trying to get into that playoff regardless of however we do it, whether its wild card or division. Were going to keep fighting until the last out." Relievers Josh Tomlin, Vinnie Pestano and Preston Guilmet worked the next four innings, allowing one unearned run. Danks lasted four innings and allowed seven runs,, nine hits and three walks in his third straight loss.dddddddddddd. In his last three outings, the left-hander has given up 17 runs in 14 1-3 innings. "If I had a reason I wouldve fixed it," Danks said. "I just couldnt do what I wanted to do. "Nothing worked. I threw the ball over where I wasnt supposed to throw it. Its embarrassing. This is supposed to be the major leagues and I went out there and pitched like that." Chicago reliever Dylan Axelrod pitched five innings to close the game, allowing no runs and four hits. Paul Konerko hit a solo homer for the White Sox, who are in last place in the AL Central and have lost 11 of 13. Clevelands Jason Kipnis went 2 for 2 with two RBIs as the Indians began a seven-game trip with a victory that improved them to 78-68. Tampa Bay, at 79-66, is in the second wild-card slot. Cleveland closed within six games of idle Detroit in the AL Central. Swisher, who sat out Wednesdays loss to Kansas City, hit his 18th homer with one out to open the scoring. After Kipnis singled and Carlos Santana walked, Raburns line shot to left barely cleared the fence for his 16th homer that made it 4-0. After Kipnis drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the fourth to extend Clevelands lead to 7-2, the Indians ran away with seven runs in the fifth. NOTES: Injured Indians ace Justin Masterson (14-10) may have a chance to rejoin the team before the season ends, according to Francona. The right-hander, who leads Cleveland in wins, left a Sept. 2 game against Baltimore in the second inning with a strained left oblique muscle. He played catch up to 90 feet on Wednesday. "He had no issues and well just continue that progression," Francona said. "He did well. Its going to depend on how quickly he comes back." ... Swisher and Cabrera were back in the starting lineup after being held out Wednesday. Cabrera entered Thursdays game in a 3-for-27 slump. ... White Sox rookie INF Marcus Semien got his fourth career start and second straight at 3B after Conor Gillaspie made three errors on Tuesday. Semien doubled for his first extra-base hit and scored his first run. ... Cleveland RHP Danny Salazar (1-2) is scheduled to face Chicago LHP Hector Santiago (4-8) in the second game of the four-game series on Friday. ' ' '