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Rays, Jays wrap up set at Rogers Centre

Apr 24, 2011 - 3:33 PM (Sports Network) - The Tampa Bay Rays aim for their fourth straight series win when they conclude a three-game set with the host Toronto Blue Jays this afternoon from Rogers Centre.

Tampa Bay has won nine of its last 12 games and handed the Jays a 6-4 loss in Saturday's middle test of this series. Johnny Damon continued to swing a hot bat with a two-run homer and three RBI, while Ben Zobrist cracked a three-run shot off of Toronto starter Brandon Morrow.

"Any runs you get off of Morrow are big ones," Zobrist said. "He does such a good job and all his pitches are A-plus pitches."

Damon is riding a 12-game hitting streak and is batting .351 with 15 runs batted in over his previous nine contests. Rays starter David Price recorded the win despite allowing four runs on eight hits over eight-plus innings to record his third straight winning decision (3-2).

The Rays, who will also visit Minnesota for three games, were able to rebound nicely from Friday's series-opening 6-4 setback in 11 innings and will send James Shields to the hill this afternoon. Shields is 1-1 with a 3.07 ERA in four starts this season and tossed the sixth complete game of his career the last time out in a 2-1 win over the White Sox at home on Tuesday.

Shields held Chicago to a run and four hits and struck out a season-best nine batters. The righty will make his 16th career start against Toronto and is 6-5 with a 4.33 ERA over the initial 15 appearances.

Meanwhile, the Blue Jays have dropped two of three and five of their last seven games, and got a pair of homers from last year's home run king Jose Bautista off of Price on Saturday.

"I figure he was coming with a fastball and I got in a good spot," Bautista said of his first-inning blast.

Bautista, who led the majors with 54 home runs in 2010, has seven homers on the season (6 at home) and finished with three hits and three runs scored. Juan Rivera knocked in a run for Toronto, which got a losing effort from Morrow in his season debut. Morrow was sidelined due to inflammation in his right elbow and permitted three runs in 5 1/3 innings with 10 strikeouts.

Toronto will begin a 10-game road trip against the Rangers, Yankees and Rays again following Sunday's game.

Toeing the rubber for the Blue Jays today will be Ricky Romero, who is 1-2 with a 3.12 earned run average in four starts. Romero has dropped back-to-back starts and is coming off Monday's 9-1 loss in Boston, where he was reached for five runs and eight hits in just 4 1.3 innings.

Romero, a left-hander, is 2-2 with a 4.45 ERA in five career starts against the Rays.

Tampa Bay won 10 of the 18 meetings with Toronto last season and is 25-13 in the last two seasons in this series.