Rays display power hitting, stellar pitching to shut out Twins

Brandon Lowe homered to extend his hitting streak to 11 games and lead the host Tampa Bay Rays to a 5-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins in Wednesday’s rubber match matinee.
Drew Rasmussen (4-4) limited the Twins to just a hit and a walk while fanning five over six innings. The right-handed starter has not allowed a run in his last three starts, a span of 18 innings.
Junior Caminero also homered as part of a 2-for-4 day with two runs batted in. Jonathan Aranda went 2-for-3, scoring twice and driving in another, and Josh Lowe also had two of the Rays’ eight hits.
With the victory, the Rays took two of three games from the Twins, who entered the series having won 16 of their last 19 games. Tampa Bay also wrapped up its nine-game homestand going 7-2.
Minnesota right-hander Pablo Lopez (4-3) matched Rasmussen through the first three frames, but Brandon Lowe opened the Rays’ fourth with his 11th home run of the season, a 407-foot shot to the right-center power alley. One out later, Aranda singled and scored on Caminero’s blast to left-center field.
Caminero’s homer came a half inning after the shortstop made two stellar defensive plays off hard-hit balls to get outs for Rasmussen.
In the fifth, Aranda’s two-out single plated Yandy Diaz. Aranda, Tampa Bay’s first baseman, ended the scoring on an eighth-inning balk by Kody Funderburk.
After facing just 11 batters through the first three innings, Lopez ended up allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out three. He entered Wednesday having allowed just three home runs in 50 2/3 innings before yielding the two fourth-inning shots.
The Twins managed to get two runners on in the seventh and eighth innings. Carlos Correa and Brooks Lee singled off Edwin Uceta, but the reliever got three straight flyouts to end the threat in the seventh. Mason Montgomery gave up hits to Christian Vazquez and Carson McCusker to begin the eighth before getting the next three.