Tampa Bay Rays weekly report

The Toronto Blue Jays rained on the Rays' winning-streak parade Wednesday, beating the Rays 5-0. Starter James Shields (6-6) lasted into the eighth inning and took the loss, but the Rays did little on offense and only had four hits, two by Ben Zobrist. Shields pitched 7 1/3 innings, giving up seven hits, five runs, four earned runs, one walk and eight strikeouts. He gave up three home runs.

The Rays started the holiday weekend Friday on a down note, losing 3-1 to the Texas Rangers. B.J. Upton's RBI single was one of only three Tampa Bay hits as Scott Kazmir (4-5) took the loss despite pitching a fairly good game. Kazmir threw five innings, giving up five hits, three runs (only one of them earned), walking one, striking out six and giving up one homer.

The Rangers' bats lit up Rays' pitching on Saturday as the Rays fell 12-4. David Price (2-3) issued more walks (five) than outs recorded (four) as the Rangers scored seven runs in the first three innings to put the Rays away for the day. Jason Bartlett and Dioner Navarro's homers provided the Rays' only scoring, with the latter hitting a three-run shot in the top of the fifth. Price only lasted 1 1/3 innings, giving up six earned runs, walking five and striking out three. Out of the bullpen, Lance Cormier and Jeff Niemann were also lit up for three runs apiece.

On Sunday, the Rangers finished off the Rays with a 5-2 win to sweep the three-game set and hand the Rays their fourth straight loss. An error in the fourth by Jason Bartlett led to two sacrifice flies by the Rangers to seal the loss. Matt Garza (6-6) pitched five innings, giving up seven hits, five earned runs, walking two and striking out seven in the losing cause.

On Tuesday, the Rays broke their four-game string of losses with a 3-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, and they did it in their usual fashion. Pat Burrell's two-out, two-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the 11^th inning sent Rays' fans home happy. Gabe Kapler drew a bases-loaded walk in the fourth to put the Rays on the board, James Shields yielded one run in seven-plus innings. Dan Wheeler (3-1) got the win after two innings of work.