Kansas City, Mo ? With a few more decisions like this, Joe Maddon will be clearing space on his mantle for another manager of the year award.

Thinking he needed to get at-bats for some of Tampa Bay’s reserves, Maddon opted to give Willy Aybar his second start since June 30 and put him at second base. All Aybar did was go 3-for-3 against Zack Greinke and then add an RBI double off Juan Cruz for the go-ahead run in the eighth Saturday night in a 4-2 victory over Kansas City.

It was the second consecutive collapse of the Kansas City bullpen and wasted a good effort by Greinke, who departed after seven innings with a 2-1 lead.

“Man, Joe’s a genius, isn’t he?” said Pat Burrell, who also had a key hit in Tampa’s second straight come-from-behind win.

Actually, Maddon confessed, he’s not.

“It’s just one of those things. I cannot take credit for that,” he said. “This is something we do back at the office and we really crunch numbers and just so many different things, and Willy came out on top vs. Greinke. So we had to throw him out there.”

Aybar also atoned for a tough error that led to Kansas City’s taking a 2-1 lead.

“I think this is the first time I faced (Greinke),” he said through an interpreter.

John Bale walked Carlos Pena leading off the eighth and then with one out, Burrell’s RBI double off Cruz (3-4) tied it 2-2. Then Aybar doubled into the right-field corner for a 3-2 lead. B.J. Upton’s RBI single off Roman Colon, his third hit, made it 4-2 in the eighth.

Cruz, who gave up Evan Longoria’s booming two-run homer in the eighth inning Friday night, blew a save for the second straight game. The veteran right-hander has lost four in a row after winning 11 consecutive decisions over a span of almost two seasons, which had been the longest active streak in the majors.

“Obviously, things get streaky in this game,” said Maddon. “The guy’s got a great arm. I said it before the game, I like the way our players are right now. I think they know it’s time.”