{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
Major League Baseball
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Tampa Bay 4, Minnesota 2
When: 7:10 PM ET, Saturday, August 11, 2012
Where: Target Field, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Temperature: 77°
Umpires: Home - Jordan Baker, 1B - Tim McClelland, 2B - Brian Runge, 3B - Marvin Hudson
Attendance: 39512

Rays 4, Twins 2:
David Price won his seventh straight decision with seven strong innings and B.J. Upton hit two homers as visiting Tampa Bay posted its fifth straight victory.

Price (15-4), who joined the Angels' Jered Weaver and the Mets' R.A. Dickey as 15-game winners in the majors, hasn't lost in 10 starts. He allowed two runs, seven hits and struck out five, the 10th straight time he's pitched seven or more innings. Price also became the first pitcher in Rays history to win 15 games in two seasons.

Matt Joyce added a solo homer - back-to-back with Upton in the first - and Ben Zobrist had three hits for the Rays, who lead the American League wild card race with Oakland, one-half game ahead of Baltimore and Detroit.

Fernando Rodney pitched a perfect ninth inning for his major league-leading 35th save in 36 chances.

Brian Dozier homered for the Twins, who dropped to 23-34 at Target Field - the third-worst home record in the majors.

Nick Blackburn (4-8) fell to 0-4 in his last seven outings. He allowed four runs and 11 hits in six innings.

Desmond Jennings led off the game with a single to center and Upton homered to left-center two pitches later. Joyce, who is 6-for-15 with three homers and six RBIs in four games against the Twins this season, followed with a blast to right.

The Twins had a chance to do damage in the second inning when they put runners on first and third with none out. Darin Mastroianni delivered an RBI infield hit to make it 3-1, but Price got Dozier to ground into a 1-6-3 double play and retired Drew Butera on a pop out.

Upton delivered a two-out solo shot to left-center to put Tampa Bay ahead 4-1 in the fifth before Dozier answered in the bottom half.

Minnesota had two on with one out in the seventh before Price struck out Dozier and pinch-hitter Ryan Doumit looking.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Tampa Bay tied a club record with its 10th straight errorless game. ... Minnesota's Joe Mauer is 2-for-14 against Price. ... Upton is 8-for-16 with two homers and six RBIs against Blackburn. ... The Rays remained six games behind the New York Yankees in the American League East. ... Rays SS Elliot Johnson, a defensive replacement, took a base hit away from Mauer leading off the ninth inning.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Tampa Bay   Minnesota
David Price Player Nick Blackburn
Win W/L Loss
7.0 IP 6.0
5 Strikeouts 2
7 Hits 11
2.57 ERA 6.00
Hitting
Tampa Bay   Minnesota
Ben ZobristPlayer Darin Mastroianni
3 Hits 2
0 RBI 1
0 HR 0
4 TB 2
.750 Avg .667
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Tampa Bay 11 3 21 .314 13 6 4 1 2 0
Minnesota 7 1 10 .219 8 6 2 0 0 0