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Rays, Twins Doubleheader: Ben Zobrist, Rays Pummel Twins In Game 1

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.

Photographs by cstreet.us, thelastminute, turtlemom nancy , fesek, kthypryn, justinwright, sue_elias, pointnshoot, and scrapstothefuture used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.