Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback and former Kansas University player Aqib Talib throws out the ceremonial first pitch before the game between the Kansas City Royals and Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Rays won, 3-2. Story on page 6B.

St. Petersburg, Fla ? B.J. Upton turned a game of missed opportunities into a victory for Tampa Bay.

Upton hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth, and James Shields allowed two runs over eight innings as the Rays completed a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals with a 3-2 victory Thursday.

“It was great to see,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. “I really felt we were going win somehow.”

Upton’s two-out shot off Jamey Wright (0-2) helped the Rays overcome an 0-for-13 performance with runners in scoring position. Carl Crawford homered in the seventh for the Rays’ first run.

“Whatever happened we just knew we had to keep grinding at the end,” Rays left fielder Crawford said. “B.J. hitting the homer at the end, that’s from us just keeping at it. We just didn’t worry about what we did earlier in the game.”

Upton has two consecutive games with two RBIs after not having a multiple RBI effort in his previous 46 games this year.

“The important thing is we got a win,” Upton said.