Pinch hitter Willy Aybar hits tiebreaking RBI double in eighth and Tampa Bay beats Washington

Aybar hit tiebreaking RBI double

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Pinch hitter Willy Aybar got a lucky bounce, doubling off the third base bag in the eighth inning and the Tampa Bay Rays completed a sweep of the lowly Washington Nationals with a 5-4 victory on Sunday.

Carlos Pena opened the eighth with a double off Ron Villone (3-3). After Ben Zobrist struck out, Aybar hit a ball down the line that hit third base and angled away from third baseman Willie Harris into left field for a run-scoring double.

Gabe Kapler added a homer and three RBIs for Tampa Bay. Dan Wheeler (2-1) worked a perfect eighth and J.P. Howell pitched the ninth for his third save.

Alberto Gonzalez drove in three runs for the Nationals, who have lost 15 of 18.

Tampa Bay, which was down 4-0, tied it at 4 on Kapler’s two-run homer in the sixth. He has a homer in each of his last three games, including a tiebreaking pinch-hit solo shot in the eighth inning of the Rays’ 4-3 win over the Nationals on Friday. He hadn’t hit any homers in his first 34 games this season.

Gonzalez put the Nationals ahead 1-0 on an RBI single in the second. He hit a two-run double off James Shields in a three-run fourth that made it 4-0.

Tampa Bay got within 4-2 in the bottom of the fourth on Kapler’s RBI single and a run-scoring sacrifice bunt by Dioner Navarro.

Shields gave up four runs and nine hits in 6 1-3 innings. Washington rookie Ross Detwiler allowed four runs, six hits and five walks over six innings.

Tampa Bay has won a season-high five in a row and are three games over .500 (34-31) for the first time this year.

NOTES: Tampa Bay LF Carl Crawford was rested, but did enter as a pinch runner in the eighth. … Washington LHP Scott Olsen (left shoulder tendinitis) allowed two runs and four hits over three innings in a minor league rehab start with Triple-A Syracuse. … There has been at least one homer hit in all 33 games this season at Tropicana Field.