The Texas Rangers fell to the Tampa Bay Rays 8-4 on Wednesday night. They started the game looking for a series sweep and their seventh victory in eight games, but couldn't recover after giving up an early lead.
The Rays scored the night's first six runs. In the first inning, Ben Zobrist hit an RBI double, and then scored on an Evan Longoria home run in the next at-bat. B.J. Upton hit a three-run home run in the second.
Texas came back to make it 6-4 after five innings, with Mitch Moreland and Josh Hamilton hitting home runs. It was Hamilton's 36th of the year, but that was the closest his team would get.
Elliot Johnson's solo home run in the sixth pushed the lead to 7-4 and Longoria added another homer in the ninth.
Tampa Bay's Alex Cobb pitched 4.2 innings and gave up eight hits and four runs (three earned).
The Rangers' Matt Harrison (15-8) pitched 5.1 innings and gave up seven runs and 12 hits, including three home runs.
Texas has Thursday off and will begin a three-game set in Cleveland on Friday.
Be sure to visit Lone Star Ball for more Rangers coverage, and head over to DRays Bay for more on the Rays. Also visit Baseball Nation for even more news and analysis from around the league.