The long ball carried Tampa Bay to a 6-2 victory over Minnesota on Thursday night, as the Rays launched five home runs to overpower the Twins at Tropicana Field.
Drew Rasmussen anchored the win with six innings of one-run ball, allowing five hits while striking out six. The right-hander carried a 2.45 ERA and improved to 2-0 on the season, working efficiently through 98 pitches to earn his second victory.
Junior Caminero set the tone with a 450-foot blast to center field in the first inning, then delivered the decisive blow in the seventh with a two-run homer to center that scored Simpson and extended the lead to 6-1. Jonathan Aranda matched Caminero's power display, launching solo shots in both the fourth and sixth innings to right field. Fortes scored on Simpson's groundout to first in the third inning to make it 2-0.
Taj Bradley absorbed the loss for Minnesota, surrendering six runs on seven hits over 6.1 innings. The Twins managed solo home runs from Brooks Lee in the fifth and Royce Lewis in the ninth, but could not match Tampa Bay's offensive explosion despite outhitting the Rays 9-7.
Tampa Bay improved to 13-11 and snapped a losing streak, while Minnesota fell to 12-13 and extended their losing streak to two games.