Rays beat White Sox 6-2

St. Petersburg, Florida- Chicago didn't waste any time getting on the board in Game two of their ALDS match up, but it wouldn't be enough to take one from Tampa Bay.

After Rays Starter Scott Kazmir loaded the bases in the top of the first inning, Jim Thome hit an RBI single to put the White Sox on top 1-0. Alexei Ramirez followed with a sac fly and a 2-0 lead.

Good for Kaz, the early damage ended there as he escaped after striking out Juan Uribe for the third out. That inning, though, took a toll on Kaz's pitch count, costing him a total of 37 pitches.

The Rays' offense helped out in the second inning, when Dioner Navarro belted the line drive RBI single to score Willy Aybar and bring the Rays within a run of Chicago.

In the fifth, the Rays took the lead, 3-2, thanks to a two run homerun by Aki Iwamura off White Sox starter Mark Buehrle.

Scott Kazmir's night ended with one out in the fifth, after 98 pitches. Kaz gave up 8 hits and 2 runs with 2 errors, 2 walks and 4 strikeouts over five and a third innings. He was relieved by Grant Balfour, who promptly scored the next two outs.

Balfour gave up two hits as the setup for J.P. Howell, who took over in the top of the seventh. Howell got three quick outs to end the inning and began the eighth in commanding fashion, striking out Uribe and Brian Anderson before allowing the potential tying run on base, in Orlando Cabrera. No harm done for Howell, who then struck out Nick Swisher, to the delight of the sellout crowd, and ended the threat.

The Rays found their bats again in the bottom of the eighth when B.J. Upton's triple set up Carl Crawford's second RBI of the postseason. CC's single scored B.J. for a 4-2 Rays lead.

Rocco Baldelli was the only Ray without a hit for the night until he came up three batters after Crawford and brought C.C. home on an RBI single. It wasn't over yet as Dioner Navarro followed with a double that Chicago fumbled in the outfield allowing Baldelli to safely slide home for a 6-2 lead.

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