St. Petersburg, Fla. Aug. 21: Ben Zobrist and Carlos Pena both homered in a three-run fifth inning Friday and Tampa Bay tightened the wild card race with a 5-3 win over Texas.
Scott Kazmir (8-7) took a shutout into the eighth inning before the Rangers made it close and the Rays went on to capture their sixth victory in seven games.
Tampa Bay already had a 2-0 lead going into the fifth, when Zobrist hit a two-run homer and Carlos Pena produced a solo shot, his 32nd of the season. Both long balls came off starter Dustin Nippert (4-2).
The Rays moved within three games of Boston for the lead in the American League wild card chase. Texas is one game behind the Red Sox.
