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Upton blasts three homers to back Shields' two-hit gem

3:11 PM, Sep 9, 2012   |    comments
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St. Petersburg, FL (Sports Network) - B.J. Upton recorded the first three- homer game of his career and James Shields posted his second shutout of the year, as the Tampa Bay Rays earned a series win over the Texas Rangers with a 6-0 victory.

Upton hammered Roy Oswalt's first pitch of the rubber match into the right- field bleachers, then added two more solo shots off reliever Martin Perez.

Shields (14-8), not to be overshadowed, gave up just two hits against the hard-hitting Rangers while striking out eight and not issuing a walk.

Jose Molina added a two-run homer for the Rays, who have won six of eight and are 1 1/2 games behind an AL wild card spot.

Texas holds a four-game lead over the Athletics in the AL West.

Oswalt (4-3) lasted just two innings in a spot start that gave Matt Harrison an extra couple of days rest. The midseason signing was touched for four runs on six hits as his ERA rose to 6.29.

The Sports Network