ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- All Doug Waechter does is win.
The rookie right-hander won his third straight game and Carl Crawford hit a three-run homer as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 11-6 Tuesday night.
Waechter (3-0) gave up four runs and eight hits over six innings. The St. Petersburg native has won all three games he has appeared in -- including both starts -- since being called up from Triple-A Durham on Aug. 25.
"Never," said Waechter, when asked if ever thought about winning each of his first three major league appearances.
"I'm still excited to be up here. I really am. It's still a shock to me coming to this ballpark everyday. From being in the minor leagues for four or five years, it's still a shock to come to a major league ballfield and call it the office."
Waechter is the first pitcher to win his first three major league games since Los Angeles' Kazuhisa Ishii won his first six last season.
Crawford put the Devil Rays ahead 6-4 with his three-run shot in the fourth.
"I was just trying to get a base hit," Crawford said. "I got lucky.'
Toby Hall homered and drove in three runs for the Devil Rays, who are 33-31 since June 28.
Joe Kennedy pitched the final three innings for his first career save.
Toronto got homers from Josh Phelps and Orlando Hudson. The Blue Jays are 3-10 against Tampa Bay this season.
"I wish I had an answer, but I thought we battled," Toronto manager Carlos Tosca said.
Cory Lidle (12-12) gave up seven runs, five hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings. He is 1-4 over his past six starts.
"I was all over the place," Lidle said. "For example, Crawford's home run, I missed my spot by a foot and a half."
Lidle is 1-3 with a 7.40 ERA in four starts against Tampa Bay this season.
Phelps put the Blue Jays up 3-0 with a three-run homer off Waechter in the first.
"I was just trying to keep my poise," Waechter said. "I just had to relax and couldn't give in."
Waechter had not allowed a run over 11 1/3 innings in his first two outings -- including a two-hit complete game shutout in his first big league start last Wednesday against Seattle.
"I've liked what I've seen," Tampa Bay manager Lou Piniella said. "This was a good learning lesson for him. And the most impressive thing was that he kept his composure and kept coming after the hitters."
Al Martin hit a two-run double in the bottom of the first. The Devil Rays tied it at 3 on Hall's second-inning solo homer.
Hudson hit a solo homer to give the Blue Jays a 4-3 lead in the fourth.
Tampa Bay went ahead 6-4 on a three-run homer by Crawford in the bottom half.
Damian Rolls' fifth-inning run-scoring double extended the Devil Rays advantage to 7-4.
Rolls hit another RBI double and Hall drove in a pair with a double during a three-run seventh that made it 10-4.
Toronto's Eric Hinske hit a run-scoring double in the eighth.
Aubrey Huff hit a solo homer in the bottom half. It was his 29th of the season.
Notes
Waechter's next start will be Sunday at the New York Yankees. ``It will be fun," he said. "It will be exciting." ... Blue Jays 1B Carlos Delgado threw his bat in disgust toward the Toronto dugout when he flew out in the ninth. He went 0-for-5. ... The Devil Rays signed OF Delmon Young, the first overall pick in this year's draft, to a $5.8 million, five-year contract. He will join the team's instructional league program on Sept. 19. ... Blue Jays RF Reed Johnson was hit by a pitch for the 19th time this season. ... Crawford has an eight-game hitting streak. ... Phelps has nine homers in 30 games since returning from a back injury. ... Martin is 6-for-12 with three doubles and a homer against Lidle.
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