Carlos Pena homers, Davis wins 6th straight decision as Tampa Bay beats Toronto

Pena homers, Davis wins 6th straight for Rays

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Carlos Pena homered and drove in four runs, Wade Davis won his sixth straight decision and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-2 on Monday night.

Pena made it 5-1 with a three-run homer off Brett Cecil (11-7) in the third.

Davis (11-9) allowed two runs and six hits in 7 2-3 innings. The right-hander has the longest winning streak by a rookie in franchise history. He had shared with Jeff Niemann (2008) and Victor Zambrano (2001).

Chad Qualls replaced Davis with two on and two outs in the eighth and struck out Jose Bautista, who leads the majors with 42 home runs. Tampa Bay remained tied with the Yankees for first place in the AL East. New York beat Oakland 11-5.

Aaron Hill hit his 20th homer of the season for the Blue Jays.

Cecil, who had beaten Tampa Bay in three other starts this season, gave up five runs — two earned — and five hits over seven innings.

Carl Crawford reached when Hill was charged with an error after moving in from second base and then misplaying a slow grounder with two outs in the third. After Evan Longoria had an infield single, Pena hit an opposite-field drive to left for his 26th homer this season.

Crawford had an RBI double and Pena hit a sacrifice fly to put the Rays up 2-0 in the first. Longoria had a sacrifice fly during the eighth that extended the Tampa Bay advantage to 6-2.

The Blue Jays pulled within 2-1 on a third-inning grounder by Travis Snider. Hill, who hit his 20th double this year during the second, added a fifth-inning solo homer.

The announced crowd was just 11,968.

Notes: The Rays are a major league-best 31-14 against left-handed starters. … Toronto 1B Lyle Overbay missed his third consecutive game. Manager Cito Gaston said Overbay continues to not feel well and is undergoing tests. … Tampa Bay reliever Grant Balfour (ribs) threw a perfect inning in his second minor league appearance for Class-A Charlotte. … Blue Jays INF Yunel Escobar sat out for the second straight game with a stiff back. … Toronto OF Vernon Wells was rested. … Longoria has 16 RBIs in his last 16 games.