Rays leave it too late this time

The Rays may not always bring home to runs, but they sure know how to make a game interesting, as the 4-3 loss to Chicago Monday night again showed.
The White Sox maintained their cool following a three-run homer from Paul Konerko, even though the Rays were at it again in the late innings after rallying to win each of their previous three games. This time, however, the Rays came up short.
Tampa, looked on course for another late steal but they failed to score in the eighth and then loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth against Bobby Jenks before Jason Bartlett struck out to end the game.
Konerko's three-run drive in the third gave the White Sox a 4-1 lead, but solo homers from Ben Zobrist and Evan Longoria went deep and Carl Crawford had an inside-the-park homer to bring the Rays back to 4-3. Crawford's inside-the-park homer was the first at U.S. Cellular Field since Chris Singleton hit one for Chicago against Kansas City on Sept. 29, 2000. But it was in vain.
The tension mounted when Bartlett worked the count to 3-2 in the ninth before fouling off a pitch. The crowd chanted ''Bobby! Bobby!'' as fast-baller Jenks got him on a slider to end it.
Sure, Rays fans love the way their team makes life fun, but sometimes just batting in those spare runners would be nice too. You don't always have to score off homers - in or out the park - to win you know...