Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - Jason Bay's home run in the bottom of the 13th inning lifted the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-3 win over Tampa Bay in the middle contest of a three-game interleague series.

Jason Hammel pitched a scoreless 12th inning and returned to the mound for the Rays in the 13th, getting Nate McLouth to foul out and Freddy Sanchez to line out to begin the frame.

But Bay stepped up and crushed a solo homer to left-center field to end the game, and give the Pirates just their second win in the past five games.

"Maybe it was a case of throwing too many strikes, but not a good pitch there," Hammel said. "Obviously he was sitting on it and got it."

Said Bay: "You keep going out there, knowing you're not having your best day. It's a funny thing about baseball; with one at-bat, what's done is done. One at-bat can turn your worst day into your best."

John Van Benschoten (1-2) took the win after tossing a scoreless top of the 13th while Ty Taubenheim was solid in a six-inning start. Taubenheim, who made his Pirates debut after appearing in 13 games with Toronto over the past two seasons, gave up two runs on seven hits.

Taubenheim also doubled and drove in a run, while Adam LaRoche and Doug Mientkiewicz added an RBI each.

Hammel (3-3) took the loss for Tampa Bay, which had won four in a row. Rays starter Edwin Jackson gave up three runs on six hits in 6 2/3 frames.

Evan Longoria and Dioner Navarro each drove in a run for the Rays, while Jonny Gomes had a pinch-hit home run in defeat.

The Rays got on the scoreboard first, when B.J. Upton and Carl Crawford began the game with a pair of singles, putting runners on the corners. After Crawford stole second, Longoria lofted a sacrifice fly to center, sending Upton home for a 1-0 Tampa Bay lead.

Pittsburgh tied the game in the second on LaRoche's run-scoring ground out, plating Ryan Doumit, and took the lead in the fifth. Jose Bautista led off the fifth with a double, and after a Jack Wilson fly out, Taubenheim smoked a two- base hit to left. Bautista scored to put the Pirates in front, 2-1.

The back-and-forth game continued, however, in the next inning. Eric Hinske led off the sixth with a double and later scored on Navarro's single to make it a 2-2 game. Navarro was then caught stealing second, which proved critical, as Willy Aybar and Jason Bartlett followed with a single each. With Navarro off the basepath, however, no one scored and Jackson grounded out to end the frame.

In the seventh, Jackson dealt a leadoff walk to LaRoche. Bautista advanced the runner with a bunt, but after Wilson hit a fly out to left, Tampa Bay's starter looked like he might get out of the inning unscathed.

But Jackson grooved a pitch down the middle of the plate to Mientkiewicz, who smashed a double to right field to plate LaRoche, putting Pittsburgh back in front by a run. Trever Miller came on for Jackson to get the final out of the inning.

Damaso Marte entered the game for the Pirates in the eighth and got into a battle of an at-bat with the pinch-hitter Gomes. Finally, on the 15th pitch, Gomes swatted the ball deep to center field, just over the fence to knot the game once more, 3-3.

Dan Wheeler threw a scoreless bottom of the eighth, while Matt Capps tossed a shutout top of the ninth. Gary Glover worked around a LaRoche single in the home ninth to set the Pirates down and send the game into extra innings.