The expected pitching duel quickly turned into a calm strikeout tutorial as the Rays grabbed the lead early and David Price stymied the White Sox hitters. The Rays jumped on Edwin Jackson early, putting 3 runs on the board in the 1st inning, even though Jackson ended the evening well, going 7 innings while allowing 4 earned runs on 11 hits, 1 walk, and 3 strikeouts.
The rag tag Rays offense collected a pair of homer against the White Sox, with Ben Zobrist homering in the off Edwin Jackson in the first and Felipe Lopez tagging a Matt Thornton pitch in the eighth. On the basepaths, Matt Joyce added his second steal of the season, while Sam Fuld was caught stealing for the third consecutive attempt. Fuld made up for his miscue, however, executing another impressive, diving catch and going 4 for 4 with a double in the lead off spot tonight.
Felipe Lopez and Matt Joyce also put together impressive, multi-hit nights. Lopez, hitting in the cleanup spot again, went 3 for 4 with a double and a homer.
However, the story tonight was largely about David Price, who conquered White Sox hitters through 8 innings, striking out 9, walking 2, and allowing only 4 hits. In total, Price threw 98 pitches and never faced any real threats it seemed.
The Rays will be in action again tomorrow night, taking on the White Sox at Tropicana Field. Game time is slotted for 6:40 p.m. ET.