Rays 12, Angels 3
B.J. Upton had four hits and visiting Tampa Bay torched Jered Weaver for a career-high nine runs as it continued its mastery of
Los Angeles.
Weaver (15-3) faced seven batters in the fourth inning but did not
record an out as the Rays scored seven runs in the frame, capped by
Upton's two-run single.
Upton, who fell a triple shy of the cycle, homered in the first and Ben
Zobrist connected in the second as Weaver allowed two homers in
back-to-back home starts for the first time in his career. He allowed eight hits, walked two and struck out two
in three-plus innings while seeing his ERA rise from 2.22 to 2.74.
Jose Molina homered and had three RBIs and Sean Rodriguez recorded three hits and drove in two runs for the Rays, who have won 10 of the last 11 meetings with the
Angels and 11 of 13 at Anaheim. Tampa Bay had won its last three at Angel Stadium by shutout and had its
34-inning scoreless streak snapped in the third inning Friday when Erick
Aybar homered.
Tampa Bay, which has won 14 of its last 19 contests, leads Baltimore and
Detroit by a half-game in the American League wild card race.
Howie Kendrick hit a two-run homer in the fourth and Torii Hunter had
three hits for the Angels, who are 2 1/2 games behind the Orioles and
Tigers and fell to 5-11 in August.
James Shields (11-7) improved to 3-0 in his last four starts and 6-3 in
12 career outings against Los Angeles. He allowed three runs, seven hits
and struck out eight in six innings.
After Evan Longoria singled and Zobrist and Jeff Keppinger walked to
lead off the fourth, Weaver yielded four consecutive run-scoring hits,
including a two-run single to Molina. He left one batter later after allowing an RBI double to Desmond Jennings. Upton
greeted reliever LaTroy Hawkins with a two-run hit to make it 9-1.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Weaver hadn't lost back-to-back starts in 44 outings. ...
The Rays are 9-2 since Evan Longoria returned from his hamstring
injury. ... Los Angeles 1B Albert Pujols went 1-for-4 and is 6-for-40 in his last 10 games. ... The Rays have
yielded three or fewer runs in 14 of their last 16 contests. ...
Kendrick is 13-for-23 against Shields.