Evan Longoria

James Shields gave up three hits over seven innings, Evan Longoria hit his major league-leading fifth home run and the Tampa Bay Rays averted a three-game sweep by beating the Baltimore Orioles, 11-3, on Sunday. Longoria was three for five and is batting .481. He has five consecutive multihit games and has driven at least one run in five of six starts. Ben Zobrist, Jason Bartlett and Carlos Pena also homered for the Rays, who got 17 hits. Shields (1-1) struck out three and walked one.

at Tampa Bay 6, Boston 2: Evan Longoria hit a grand slam and is batting 10 for 22 with 13 runs batted in against the Red Sox this season. at Toronto 8, Baltimore 4: Roy Halladay won his 10th straight decision against the Orioles and Kevin Millar drove in three runs against his former team. Halladay has not lost to the Orioles since May 4, 2005, and is 19-4 against them.

Ernie Banks made 14 All-Star teams during a 19-year Hall of Fame career in which he hit 512 home runs and won two most-valuable-player awards. But he never played in a World Series. Hector Lopez played in five World Series in as many years. Yet, he never made an All-Star team.

So who went ahead of Tim Lincecum and Clayton Kershaw in the 2006 draft? Well, one of those picks was infielder Evan Longoria, who Tampa Bay took at No. 3. But if Longoria had been doing the picking, he may have selected the Angels since he grew up about a half an hour's drive from Anaheim as a big fan of the team. And as a major league third baseman, he has become a big fan of their stadium. "It's pretty much like playing in your own backyard," said Longoria, who had six extra-base hits, including two home runs, in a three-game visit to Angel Stadium last season.

Being shut out on a paltry three singles while its defense crumbled apparently had a way of getting the Angels' attention. One night after that calamity, the Angels refocused at the expense of the Tampa Bay Rays, played error-free ball and reasserted why they're one of baseball's best hitting teams. Vladimir Guerrero and Kendry Morales each hit two home runs -- with Guerrero's second the 400th of his career -- Monday night to help the Angels overcome another poor outing by rookie starting pitcher Sean O'Sullivan and defeat the Rays, 8-7, at Angel Stadium.

Clay Buchholz pitched six effective innings, Jason Bay drove in two runs and Boston hurt Tampa Bay's playoff hopes with a 6-3 win over the Rays. The Red Sox took two of three from the Rays -- Boston's first series win at Tropicana Field since Sept. 21-23, 2007 -- to extend their AL wild-card advantage over Tampa Bay to six games. Texas trails Boston by three games. Buchholz (4-3) gave up three runs and six hits. Bay, with 21 RBIs in his last 22 games, hit a two-run double that put the Red Sox ahead, 2-0, in the first.

Evan Longoria stood in the Tampa Bay Rays clubhouse, answering questions about some of the perks of celebrity and how he would like to be remembered when his playing days are over. That's the life of an up and coming star. The 23-year-old third baseman was an instant hit in 2008, signing a contract potentially worth $44 million after beginning the season in the minor leagues and then playing a major role in the team's run to the World Series. He was an American League all-star, the league's rookie of the year and perhaps became the most recognizable face on a club loaded with young rising stars like himself and center fielder B.J. Upton, whose emergence in the postseason has put him on a fast track, too. They are two of the reasons the Rays feel they have what it take to repeat as AL champions.

A day after one of his worst relief outings, Mariano Rivera was right where he wanted to be: back on the mound. Unlike Saturday, when his manager ordered him to walk Evan Longoria, Rivera got his chance to face Tampa Bay's slugger, this time with two outs in the ninth inning and a one-run lead to protect. And the outcome was more familiar. Rivera got Longoria to ground meekly to second, closing out the New York Yankees' 4-3, come-from-behind victory over the Rays on Sunday for his 495th career save.

Give the fans applause for an All-Star performance. Albert Pujols, absolutely. Joe Mauer, right on the money. Chase Utley and Evan Longoria, no doubt about it. Fan balloting for All-Star game starters has been a contentious issue in baseball for years. Some complain the process is merely a popularity contest that often puts big names on the field at the expense of more deserving players. This season, however, a look at the numbers shows fans were hitting for their highest average in years.