Twins take it to Rays

Scott Kazmir, getting little help from his defense, allowed eight runs (six earned, and two on wild pitches) in four innings, as the Rays (8-14) dropped a sixth consecutive series heading home to play the in-form Boston Red Sox.
"We're not really pleased with what's going on," said Rays coach Joe Maddon. "We should have been able to win more than one series to this point. But it's early, and I'm very optimistic we're going to turn this around."
In the first inning alone, Kazmir gave up a run on a bases-loaded wild pitch, second baseman Akinori Iwamura and right fielder Ben Zobrist allowed a run when a pop fly fell between them, and ex-Ray Delmon Young helped get a run home on a strikeout.
And then there was the Twins' three-run fourth inning during which Iwamura, who didn't commit an error in his first 74 games last year, was charged with two on one play. His fielding and throwing errors on a Kubel grounder let Justin Morneau score from second.
Before the double-error, Kazmir gave up a one-out triple to Tampa's Denard Span, an RBI single to Brendan Harris and an RBI double to Morneau in succession. When the flat-looking Rays headed to their dugout, the Twins led 8-1.
The Rays managed single runs in the third, seventh and ninth innings. Evan Longoria drove in runs with ground outs in the third and ninth, but he grounded out to end the eighth with the bases loaded. Gabe Gross drove in a run with a single in the seventh.
Shortstop Jason Bartlett, the Rays' leading hitter with a .368 average, came out of the game in the fifth inning with left hamstring tightness.