Marco Scutaro scores on wild pitch in 9th as Blue Jays avoid sweep with 3-2 win over Rays

Scutaro scores on wild pitch to give Jays 3-2 win

TORONTO — The Tampa Bay Rays’ chase for the AL wild card took a hit. So did two members of the umpiring crew.

Marco Scutaro scored the winning run on a wild pitch after Rays closer J.P. Howell loaded the bases with three walks, and the Toronto Blue Jays rallied to beat Tampa Bay 3-2 on Wednesday night in a game in which two umpires were injured.

“This is as bad as it gets as a relief pitcher,” Howell said. “Everyone does so much work to get there and you just want to get out of there, man.”

Rod Barajas hit a tying pinch-hit homer off Howell (6-4) with one out in the ninth.

“He threw me a curveball and it ended up being right where I like it,” Barajas said.

After walking three and with rookie Randy Ruiz up, Howell uncorked a curveball that bounced high off the shinguard of catcher Gregg Zaun, allowing Scutaro to score without a play. It was Howell’s seventh blown save this season.

“It’s just unfortunate because J.P. has been so great for us all year,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said.

The Rays are four games behind Boston in the wild-card race.

“You try to move on right then and there,” Howell said. “You try not to even carry it one more step with you as you cross the chalk. That’s what I try to do but obviously it’s a little more difficult in that situation, especially with what’s going on right now.”

Brandon League (2-5) worked one inning for the win.

It was a tough night to be a home plate umpire. Crew chief Jerry Crawford left after two innings because of back spasms and his replacement, Tom Hallion, was knocked over after he was struck in the chest by a pitch from Rays lefty Scott Kazmir in the sixth.

Kazmir was left shaken by the incident, which started when he tried to throw a fastball away that tailed inside.

“It hit him flush, you know, right there in the midsection,” Kazmir said. “I heard the sound when it hit him and the way he fell down, I knew it wasn’t good. You never want to see anything like that.”

After a 21-minute delay, the game resumed with Hallion at third base. First base umpire Brian O’Nora moved behind the plate and Scott Barry moved from third to first.

Crawford said both he and Hallion are expected to be fine in time for the crew’s next assignment, Friday night in St. Louis.

At Boston, David Ortiz curled his second home run of the game around the Pesky Pole for his 10th career game-ending homer and franchise-record ninth with the Red Sox. Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx had eight.

All-Star Tim Wakefield pitched seven strong innings and Daniel Bard (1-1) earned his first career victory with 1 1-3 innings of scoreless relief.

Tony Pena (1-2) struck out Kevin Youkilis to start the ninth, then gave up the homer to Ortiz, who also went deep in the second.

At New York, Jorge Posada hit a three-run homer and Andy Pettitte (11-6) allowed two runs and five hits over seven innings.

Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira both drove in two runs, and Jerry Hairston Jr. added a solo homer for the Yankees.

David Murphy homered and drove in both runs for the Rangers, who dropped five games behind Los Angeles in the AL West and 2½ games behind Boston for the wild card.

At Anaheim, Calif., Torii Hunter hit a two-run homer, Joe Saunders pitched five effective innings and Los Angeles snapped a three-game losing streak.

Kendry Morales and Chone Figgins added run-scoring hits for the Angels, the only major league club without four straight losses.

Saunders (10-7) allowed four hits and two walks while striking out six.

At Minneapolis, Jeremy Guthrie pitched seven innings and Felix Pie homered as Baltimore ended the Twins season-high five-game winning streak.

Guthrie (9-12) won his second straight start, allowing six hits and one run.

Twins starter Nick Blackburn (8-9) lost his fifth straight decision. He was 8-4 with a 3.06 ERA before the All-Star break.

At Kansas City, Mo., Grady Sizemore scored three runs and David Huff bounced back from a bad start in his previous outing for Cleveland.

Matt LaPorta hit his second homer of the season in the sixth off Luke Hochevar (6-7) and Jamey Carroll had three hits to back Huff (8-7), who allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings.

Kerry Wood worked a perfect ninth for his 16th save.

At Seattle, Jose Lopez homered, newly acquired Bill Hall drove in two runs and Luke French won his third game in four decisions as a Mariner.

Miguel Batista, Mark Lowe and David Aardsma kept Oakland scoreless over the final 4 1-3 innings as Seattle swept a series for the first time since June 19-21, against Arizona.

French (4-3), making his fifth start since Seattle acquired him from Detroit in the Jarrod Washburn trade, allowed six hits and three runs in 5 2-3 innings.