SEATTLE -- Two days after his baserunning error cost Tampa Bay, Sean Rodriguez atoned for his mistake with a key pinch hit. Rodriguez hit a go-ahead single in the eighth inning on Sunday and the Rays rallied past the Seattle Mariners 4-1 Sunday to build their wild-card edge. "I (will) definitely sleep better now," said a relieved Rodriguez about the cross country flight home. "Considering that happened only two days ago, you dont usually get an opportunity right away. Thats instant gratification. Instant redemption. Im very fortunate." Rodriguez had been picked off second late in the game on Friday in the Rays loss that night. The Rays lead Baltimore and Cleveland, who both lost, by two games for the second AL wild-card spot. Trailing 1-0, Tampa Bay scored three times in the eighth. Evan Longoria was hit by a pitch from Yoervis Medina (4-5) to start the inning and Luke Scott walked. James Loney followed with a tying double that landed just inside the right-field line. Rodriguez, hitting for Matt Joyce, singled sharply up the middle off new reliever Oliver Perez to score Scott. Loney also came home when centre fielder Abraham Almonte bobbled the ball for an error. The Rays began their 10-game road trip in sole possession of the first wild-card spot and a four-game lead on the second position. Tampa Bay completed the swing at just 3-7. The Rays contend, though, that the record on the road trip is less important than the momentum they grabbed with the win Sunday. "The thing is, everybody goes through bad moments," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "Everybody does. Every team out theres gone through bad moments this year. Ours is just occurring right now. A lot of it is its a tough trip. Its a tough trip. "So it was kind of a buzz saw moment. We kind of survived it in a sense. We get to go back home. Again, of course you got to believe. I believe every moment of every day. I never lost faith in any of this. Youre just looking for that moment when you can break through again. It (happened) today." Rays starter Matt Moore got a no-decision despite tossing 6 1-3 innings of one-run ball. The left-hander allowed four hits, walked three and struck out three. Moore hasnt lost since June 14, a span of nine decisions. "Had really good fastball velocity, I thought he maintained it pretty much the entire gamem," Maddon said. "Curveball and changeup were there, but I think he actually pitched with his fastball well today." Jake McGee (4-3) got two outs and the win. Fernando Rodney closed for his 33rd save in 41 chances. The Rays picked up an insurance run in the ninth on an RBI double by Desmond Jennings, but still left the bases loaded. Tampa Bay also squandered a chance with the bags full in the seventh, as pinch-hitter Delmon Young grounded into a double play and Ben Zobrist flew out to end the frame without putting a run on the board. The Rays went 4 for 10 with runners in scoring position on Sunday, but still only hit .177 (17 for 96) in those spots during the road trip. Mariners starter Erasmo Ramirez pitched into the seventh, blanking the Rays on four hits and working around four walks. "I thought Erasmo was good," Mariners skipper Eric Wedge said. "I loved his aggressiveness early in the game and he was able to hang on to it and sustain it." Kendrys Morales led off the Seattle second with his 20th homer of the season and 99th of his career. It was just one of five hits the Mariners were able to record. NOTES: Rays SS Yunel Escobar did not start for the first time since July 21. He pinch-hit in the eighth. Maddon said Sundays pitching matchup gave him a good excuse to sit Escobar, who he wants to keep from completely wearing down by the end of the season. ... Seattle 2B Nick Franklin was not in the lineup on Sunday, a day after taking a knee to the head while attempting to field a fly ball. Wedge said the decision was not entirely based on Saturdays collision, though, and Franklin is fine. Franklin struck out pinch-hitting in the ninth. Al Macinnis Jersey . With nothing tangible at stake, the Raptors turned in their most impressive outing of the fall in their seventh and second to last exhibition tilt against their stiffest competition yet, but they lost a couple starters in the process. Rik Wilson Jersey . The same for both the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers. https://www.cheapblues.com/374z-chris-pronger-jersey-blues.html . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Bob Gassoff Jersey .com) - SirDominic Pointer posted career highs of 24 points and seven steals to lead No. Patrik Berglund Jersey . As each game passes (each has played close with the exception of last night) it becomes clearer just how evenly matched these two teams are and how one mistake, or one bad inning, is likely to sway the result.PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma wants his high-powered team to get used to playing tight-checking playoff hockey before the post-season begins next month. St. Louis doesnt need the lure of the playoffs as an excuse to get stingy. The space-eating Blues have been doing it all year, and it showed in a taut 1-0 road win on Sunday. Frustrating the NHLs best power play during a pivotal two-man disadvantage at the start of the second period, the Blues continued their mastery of the Eastern Conference by beating the Penguins the way theyve beaten so many teams this season. The room to manoeuvr that Pittsburgh stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin usually enjoy disappeared as St. Louis clogged passing lanes and dictated play defensively. David Backes deflected a slap shot by Alexander Steen past Marc-Andre Fleury midway through the third period for the games only goal and Brian Elliott stopped 33 shots to pick up his fourth shutout of the season as the Blues moved three points clear of Chicago in the race for the best record in the Western Conference. "When youre in a tight game like that against a good team, the guys kind of rose up to the challenge and I tried to make a couple saves and get the rebounds out of the zone and they did the rest," Elliott said. Fleury made 26 saves for the Penguins but watched Backes deflection carom off his glove and into the net just after a penalty against Malkin expired. "I just saw the guy raise his stick for the shot," Fleury said. "There were a bunch of people in front. I tried to cover some net but I didnt see it go in. St. Louis bounced back from a one-sided loss at Philadelphia on Saturday to improve the leagues best road record to 23-11-3. Pittsburghs top-ranked power play went 0-for-5 a day after scoring three times in a win over Tampa Bay. When Elliott wasnt getting a pad on the puck, his teammates were. The Blues blocked 25 shots, with the Penguins frustration growing at every turn as the Blues improved to 20-5-2 against the Eastern Conference, the best interconference record in the league. Pittsburgh had a 5-on-3 power play at the beginning of the second period for more than 90 seconds without bbeing able to sneak something by Elliott.ddddddddddddMost of the time the Penguins struggled generating a shot as the Blues effectively disrupted Pittsburghs rhythm. "We just kind of cleared lanes and I was able to see the ones they took," Elliott said. "Whenever guys are moving big guys out of the way, it just helps and you saw guys get in front of shots, block them and clear them down." Malkin was called for high-sticking 9:17 into the third and he was barely out of the box and back on the ice when Backes gave St. Louis the lead. The puck cycled to the point and Alexander Steen fired a slap shot that Backes found a way to nick as it sailed by. His 24th goal of the year proved more than enough. Elliott wobbled several times — including at least two saves where it appeared the puck was creeping to the goal line when the whistle blew — but didnt collapse. When the clock expired after one last clear up the zone, the game ended with the unusual sight of Malkin trying to mix it up with Alex Pietrangelo. Bylsma said coming into an important weekend he wanted his team to get used to playing tightly contested, low-scoring games. Pittsburgh survived one on Saturday, rallying for a 4-3 overtime win against the streaking Lightning that featured 40 minutes of clamp-down hockey and 22 minutes of frantic play. The Blues, who have positioned themselves into contenders in the West by sealing off the net, would not be lulled into the kind of end-to-end stretches that allow the Penguins to run free. "We still want to do a better job in these games and win them," Crosby said. "We have done a pretty good job of being patient when weve been in these kinds of games." At times, Bylsma wonders if his club was too patient, particularly in the first period. "The first 20 minutes we backed them off with speed," he said. "We had some opportunities and needed to have more of a drive and shoot mentality." NOTES: The Penguins played with seven defencemen instead of six, a move Bylsma said was needed in a game where he knew open ice would be at a premium. ... St. Louis plays in Toronto on Tuesday while the Penguins host Phoenix on Tuesday. ' ' '