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Kazmir sharp as Rays pound Orioles

Aug 30, 2008 - 3:39 AM ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Ticker) -- The Tampa Bay Rays made history Friday night. Yet, they still have much bigger goals on the horizon.

Ben Zobrist hit his first career grand slam and Cliff Floyd had three hits and five RBI as the Rays routed the Baltimore Orioles, 14-3, at Tropicana Field.

Gabe Gross also homered and Scott Kazmir pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings for the Rays (82-51), who own both the American League's best overall record and its top home mark (50-19).

They also maintained their 4 1/2-game lead over the Boston Red Sox (78-56) for first place in the AL East Division and, in the process, clinched their first winning season in franchise history.

"To get to 82 wins obviously is important for us as an organization," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "We've done it. It's behind us, now we can go past it. We've got our eyes on the playoffs."

Kazmir (10-6) allowed three hits and won for just the second time in his last seven starts. The All-Star lefthander struck out six and walked three.

"Fifty wins at home is almost as many wins as we had last year," Kazmir said. "We're not showing any signs of letting up. Hopefully, we can carry on in the future."

Leading, 3-0, after two frames, the Rays broke open the game with a seven-run fourth. Floyd's two-run double made it 5-0, chasing Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie (10-11).

Fernando Cabrera retired Willy Aybar on a ground out, but then intentionally walked Eric Hinske to face Zobrist with the bases loaded. Zobrist sent Cabrera's first pitch into the right-field stands, and Gross followed three pitches later with a solo shot to center for a 10-0 cushion.

"I knew I hit it good off the bat," said Zobrist, who received his first curtain call. "It's fantastic so many guys contributed tonight. We continue to win as a team."

Guthrie lasted just a career-low three innings, allowing seven hits and seven runs. He walked six and struck out two.

"I didn't have much of anything and threw a lot of balls, got behind in most counts," Guthrie said. "It just didn't feel great out there."

Juan Salas and Jason Hammel pitched the final 3 2/3 innings to finish out the game for the Rays.

"It just goes to show how good of a team Tampa has," Baltimore manager Dave Trembley said. "They're on a roll right now and they play very well at home."

In the third, Melvin Mora left after suffering a Grade One hamstring strain while trying to beat out a ground ball to second and is listed as day-to-day.

In the bottom of the fourth, Orioles catcher Ramon Hernandez was ejected by home plate umpire Sam Holbrook for arguing balls and strikes while the Rays were batting.

"I really respect what Ramon did as far as standing up for the team and also for the pitchers," Guthrie said.

B.J. Upton had three hits and scored three runs and Shawn Riggans homered in the eighth to cap the scoring for Tampa Bay.