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Price, Rays blank White Sox

Apr 19, 2011 - 3:03 AM St. Petersburg, FL (Sports Network) - Felipe Lopez went 3-for-4 with a solo homer and three runs batted in to help back eight shutout innings from David Price, as the Tampa Bay Rays earned a 5-0 win over the Chicago White Sox in the opener of a four-game set at Tropicana Field.

Ben Zobrist added a two-run shot and Sam Fuld went 4-for-4 with a double and run scored for Tampa Bay, which has won six of its last seven.

Price (2-2) was sensational in his outing, allowing only four hits and a pair of walks while striking out nine.

"They're a tough team to pitch against," Price said about the White Sox. "It was big for me to go out there and throw the way that I did and our defense helping me out, that was awesome. I couldn't ask for anything better."

Ramon Castro doubled to account for one of the four hits for the White Sox, who have dropped five in a row and six of their last seven overall.

Edwin Jackson (2-1) was tagged with the loss for yielding four runs on 11 hits and one walk in seven frames. The veteran right-hander, who tossed a no-hitter against the Rays at Tropicana Field while pitching for Arizona last June 25, fanned three.

"They had me ducking a little bit tonight," Jackson said the Rays' hitters.

Price stranded runners on the corners in the first, and Tampa Bay jumped on Jackson for three in the home half.

Fuld led off the inning with a single, went to second on a bunt by Elliot Johnson and scored two batters later when Lopez grounded a base hit up the middle. Zobrist followed with a two-run shot into the right-field seats.

Chicago left a pair of runners on base in the top of the fifth, and the Rays tacked on another to make it a 4-0 game in the bottom portion. Matt Joyce reached with a single, stole second and came home on Lopez's double to left.

Price then worked a perfect sixth and stranded a runner in both the seventh and eighth innings.

Lopez led off the home eighth with a homer to left, and Price was lifted in the ninth in favor of Joel Peralta, who secured the victory with a scoreless inning of relief.

Game Notes

Rays outfielder Johnny Damon sat out with a bruise on the tip of his left ring finger...Despite the loss, Chicago has still won five of its last eight matchups with the Rays...The White Sox started an 11-game road trip that also includes stops in Detroit and New York.