Tampa Bay Rays weekly report

On Wednesday, the Rays saw their five-game winning streak snapped by the team whose winning streak they snapped the day before, the Colorado Rockies. Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria had back-to-back homers in the fifth inning, but a shaky start by David Price (1-1) made it too much for the Rays to overcome. Price pitched seven innings, giving up 10 hits and five earned runs, striking out five and giving up two home runs.

On Thursday, Rockies hitters rocked Matt Garza (4-5) for three homers, including back-to-back shots in the third inning, as the Rays fell to the Rockies 4-3 in the rubber game of their three-game set. The offense was mostly quiet until the top of the ninth, when the Rays plated two runs and had the tying run on base. Garza pitched five innings, giving up five hits, four earned runs, walking two and striking out five.

On Friday, the Rays continued their interleague sojourn with a trip to New York to play the Mets. Andy Sonnanstine (5-7) took the loss in the 5-3 defeat, giving up a three-run homer in the third inning. B.J. Upton pulled the Rays within one with a two-run double, but they still couldn't catch the Mets. Sonnanstine pitched six innings, giving up seven hits, four earned runs, walked two and struck out five.

The Rays on Saturday managed a 3-1 win over the Mets and their ace, Johan Santana. James Shields (6-5) retired the last 14 batters he faced before leaving after seven innings and a 73-minute rain delay. Gabe Kapler's RBI double, a Carlos Pena homer and a Ben Zobrist homer after the rain delay sealed it for the Rays. Shields pitched seven innings, giving up three hits, one earned run and striking out four.

J.P. Howell finished it for his fourth save.

Rain and Rays go together, it seems, with Tampa Bay taking another rain-interrupted match from the Mets 10-6. B.J. Upton was four for six with four RBIs and needed a triple to hit for the cycle. His two-run homer in the four-run seventh put the Rays ahead to stay. The 17-hit attack was bolstered by Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria's seven hits, three RBIs and three runs scored. Joe Nelson took the win in relief of Randy Niemann.

The Rays opened a three-game set with the Philadelphia Phillies, a replay of last year's World Series in miniature, with a 10-1 loss on Tuesday. David Price (1-2) may have dazzled in the Series, but he got off to a disappointing start, yielding six runs before the Rays even got to bat and four more runs in the fourth inning. The Rays' three errors didn't help, either. Jason Barlett notched the Rays' only RBI in the fourth inning. Price gave up seven hits, 10 runs, five of them earned, walked two, struck out two and gave up two home runs.