ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- One swing of Evan Longorias bat erased another night of frustration for the Tampa Bay Rays. Longoria hit a two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning off Padres closer Huston Street on Saturday night, rallying the Rays to an 8-7 victory over San Diego. Street (0-2) retired the first two batters in the ninth before walking Ben Zobrist on a full count. Longoria followed with his ninth home run, handing Street his first blown save in nine tries this season. "You need games like this, whether its myself or anybody coming through in the clutch, to kind of boost morale and jump-start everything," Longoria said. Failing to finish off Zobrist is what bothered Street the most. "You get him 1-2, youve got to make a pitch," he said. "Im frustrated about that just as much as leaving a pitch to Longoria in the middle of the plate." It was the fourth straight win for the Rays, who had to come back after Jesus Guzmans pinch-hit grand slam off Jeremy Hellickson helped San Diego overcame a 6-2 deficit in the seventh. If the Padres had held on, it would have been the 14th game the Rays lost this season after leading. They had lost twice this week after taking big leads into the late innings. "It would have been among the top three worst losses of the year," said manager Joe Maddon, who was uncharacteristically perturbed about another blown lead. "Thats not going to happen very often," Maddon said. "We were fortunate Longo was in the right spot, fortunate that Zo gets it as a hitter. You had all this talent coming together at that particular moment. But you cant go to the dance playing like that. When you get leads, youve got to put the other team away. Im not happy with that. Thats inappropriate. Thats got to stop." Cesar Ramos (1-0) got the win as the Rays moved up to .500 for the first time since April 7. James Loney hit a two-run homer as the Rays roughed up San Diegos Burch Smith in the second inning of his major league debut. The Rays scored six runs on five hits and a couple of walks in the inning and drove Smith out of the game. "I feel the difference between the first and second inning was I was locating the fastball better. The second inning I was leaving pitches over the plate," said Smith. "Hitters at this level are going to take advantage of mistakes. (Ill) come back next time and do better." Hellickson retired 16 straight batters after giving up three hits, including Chase Headleys two-run homer, in the first. Hellickson took a four-run lead into the seventh, when he walked Carlos Quentin to start the Padres rally. After Guzmans slam, Quentin walked again in the same inning, this time with the bases loaded against Jamey Wright to force in the lead run that made it 7-6. "It was a huge blow at the time, but our spirit didnt wane," Longoria said. "We stayed in the game, continued to have good at bats, and were happy to get the results that we did." Smith, a 23-year-old righty called up from Double-A San Antonio, got three quick outs, including a couple of strikeouts in his first inning. But he walked Longoria to lead off the second and Loney followed with his second homer of the season. Smith threw 26 pitches in the inning without getting an out. Tyson Ross finished the inning for the Padres and pitched four shutout innings of relief. Hellickson pitched 6 2-3 innings, giving up six earned runs on six hits while striking out eight. He has had leads in each of his last four starts, but has not won any of them. NOTES: San Diego optioned RHP Brad Boxberger to Triple-A Tucson to open a roster spot for Smith. Boxberger appeared in two games for the Padres. .... Padres LHP Clayton Richard, recovering from an intestinal virus and eligible to come off the disabled list on May 20, will pitch for Triple-A Tucson in a rehab game on Thursday . . . Rays CF and leadoff hitter Desmond Jennings was out of the lineup for the second straight night. Manager Joe Maddon said hes simply giving Jennings, whos batting .244 and has a season-best seven-game hitting streak, some rest. "I think with a little respite, this guy is going to be even better when he comes back. Theres nothing wrong. I just want to give him a break," Maddon said. Sam Fuld made his second straight start in centre field. . . . Smith was the 443rd player drafted in 2011 and the ninth to make it to the majors. Austin Rivers Jersey . It was the second consecutive win for the Pacers (2-5), who lost their first five preseason games. Jeff Teague led the Hawks (1-5) with 17 points and eight assists and Al Horford had 12 points and seven rebounds. 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LOS ANGELES -- A Southern California community college football player was suspended for five years on Monday after knocking out a referee during a game, but his school said the punch was accidental and the penalty will be appealed.I knew I wasnt going to play the next game....I didnt think it would be years, Bernard Schirmer of Mount San Antonio College said after learning of the suspension.However, the 19-year-old man said in a telephone interview that he takes full responsibility for his actions and accepts whatever punishment he ultimately will receive.The commissioner of the Southern California Football Association suspended Schirmer for what was termed a Level 1 Decorum Infraction, which carries a minimum 60-month suspension.A letter from football association Commissioner Jim Sartoris to the college says an officials game report stated that Schirmer was disqualified during the third quarter of Saturday nights game in Ventura for an unsportsmanlike act -- punching a referee and knocking him out cold.The decision to suspend the player was made after viewing video of the incident and reviewing a report provided by the head referee, Sartoris said.Video streaming live from the game showed the line judge falling to the ground.I talked to him yesterday. Hes a little sore from going down so hard, but he said he had no headache or anything else, Rich Kollen, director of football operations for the Southern California Football Association, said Monday.Kollen said the man has not seen a physician. He is scheduled to officiate at anotther game Saturday.ddddddddddddSchirmer was arrested on suspicion of battery after the incident, booked at Ventura Countys jail and released on bail. The district attorneys office will decide whether to file criminal charges.The player said he has not heard anything more from police about the case.Schirmer, who stands 6-foot-6 (2 meters) and weighs 275 pounds (122 kilograms), said he was having words with a defensive end who had pushed him.I let him get the best of me, Schirmer said. I tried to approach him and my teammates were holding me back and I had no idea that the official was, like, hugging me or something.Schirmer said when he becomes frustrated or angry on the football field, he hits his helmet to refocus -- once even giving himself a mild concussion.So during Saturday nights confrontation , he struck the side of his helmet.The next thing I know, the ref was on the ground ... I honestly thought somebody else hit him, Schirmer said.The school looked at the enlarged video frame by frame and concluded that Schirmer accidentally struck the official with his forearm. The college will appeal what could be a career-ending suspension, sports information director Brian Yokoyama said.Im really sorry, Schirmer said. I didnt mean where it (the blow) went. I just tried to get myself focused, and it all went south.---This story has been corrected to show the correct spelling of Brian Yokoyamas last name. ' ' '