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Upton, Rays rout Angels

Aug 18, 2012 - 5:51 AM Anaheim, CA (Sports Network) - B.J. Upton and the Tampa Bay Rays lit up Jered Weaver and the Angels en route to a 12-3 romp in the second meeting of a four- game series.

The Rays won the opener of the set, 7-0, on Thursday, marking the fourth time they shut out the Angels already this year.

On Friday, their bats shined against one of the best arms in the game in Weaver (15-3), who came in leading the AL in ERA.

After just three-plus innings, Weaver's ERA grew more than a half-run to 2.74 as he yielded nine runs on eight hits and two walks while losing consecutive starts for the first time in over a year.

"This was not a good time of the year for this to happen. I just couldn't get anything going," Weaver admitted.

Upton went 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBI, Jose Molina also homered and drove in three runs and Ben Zobrist added a solo shot in the rout.

"Hitting is contagious. We've been taking advantage of the pitches we've been getting," Upton said.

The offensive surge backed a quality start from James Shields (11-7), who gave up three runs on seven hits over six frames.

Upton and Zobrist hit solo shots in the first and second inning, respectively, and Erick Aybar countered with a solo blast of his own in the home third. It marked the first time the Angels scored against the Rays in 35 innings.

The Rays answered emphatically with seven runs in the fourth.

A single and two walks preceded consecutive run-scoring singles by Sean Rodriguez and Ryan Roberts. A Molina base hit to center brought home two more and Desmond Jennings' RBI double ended Weaver's outing.

Upton greeted LaTroy Hawkins with a two-run single to cap the flurry.

Howie Kendrick hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth, and Zobrist scored in Tampa Bay's next at-bat on a Rodriguez groundout.

Molina added another run with a leadoff homer off Jason Isringhausen in the eighth, and Elliot Johnson's sacrifice fly in the ninth accounted for the final tally.

Game Notes

The last time Weaver lost two straight starts was during a four-start slide from May 2-May 18, 2011 ... The Angels fell to 17-3 in Weaver's last 20 home starts ... Rodriguez had three of the Rays' 17 hits ... Torii Hunter had three hits for the Angels ... Tampa Bay is 7-1 against the Angels this season.