Following last night's blueprint, the Tampa Bay Rays (13-11) scored early, often, and late against the Minnesota Twins (9-14) today, completing their second straight blowout, 15-3. Ben Zobrist played the hero, falling one base short of the cycle while hitting 2 doubles, a homer, a single, and a Rays record 8 RBI. The slugging super-utility man now leads the team with 6 home runs and is on pace for yet another career year.
The Rays received solid contributions from all over the field. Here some highlights:
- Jeremy Hellickson (2-2) picked up his second win, pitching 6.1 innings while being tabbed for only 3 runs. He had 3 strikeouts and 1 walk, despite not having his greatest stuff on the day.
- Casey Kotchman had a solid day at the plate, sneaking a home run into the overhang in right field, altogether going 2 for 5. Matt Joyce also went 3 for 4, with 3 singles.
- Johnny Damon also had a fine day at the plate, going 3 for 4 with a triple and a walk, stretching his hit streak to 15 games. Damon, B.J. Upton, and Ben Zobrist each had a steal, too, as nothing seemed capable of stopping the Rays offense.
- Jake McGee and Adam Russell added another pair of rather quiet performances. McGee did allow hit, which caused an additional run to score on Hellickson's account.