Kobayashi Maru 1.0 » The Kings had won 15 of the previous 18 games b

MINNEAPOLIS -- Not even the All-Star break could cool off the Tampa Bay Rays. Ben Zobrist homered and Evan Longoria had three RBIs to lead the Rays to a 6-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night. Alex Cobb (5-6) allowed two runs in 5 2-3 innings and Matt Joyce added an RBI single as the Rays continue playing themselves back into contention and impressing manager Joe Maddon. "We pretty much picked up where we did leave it off at the All-Star break," Maddon said. "We were crispy, man. That felt good." Trevor Plouffe homered for the Twins, a two-run shot in the third highlighted by a fan leaning over the railing in left-centre and making a great catch. Tampa Bay took a 3-0 lead in the third on Longorias bases-loaded double that soared just beyond the reach of right fielder Oswaldo Arcia. "Thats what really can start to breed confidence," said Longoria, who was hitting just .220 in July before Friday. "It was a good time right there for me to be able to do that and have a renewed slate, so to speak, in the second half." The Twins could have escaped the inning with minimal damage, but a come-backer off the bat of Desmond Jenning ricocheted off the glove of starting pitcher Kyle Gibson (8-8), ruining a possible double play. Zobrist walked and Longoria cleared the bases after Joyce popped out. "If I field my position there in the third inning and get a double play, or if it turns out if I let the ball go, (Brian) Doziers right up in the middle in his shift, its a double play and the defence gets me out of the inning," he said. After Plouffes home run, Zobrist made it 5-2 in the fifth with a two-run homer off Gibson that bounced off the top of the limestone overhang in right field. Both teams need to get off to a hot start in the second half if they want to contend for a playoff spot instead of trade away veterans before the deadline. The Rays had a losing record at the All-Star break for the first time since 2007, but won 11 of 15 heading into the break. Since 2010, Tampa Bay holds the best record in baseball after the All-Star break. Even though it was only a single game in July, Cobb felt it was really important for the Rays to come back after some time off with a win. "It definitely starts that momentum that we need to get going," he said. "Were going in the right direction." With the state silhouette still mowed in the centre-field grass, Minnesota played its first game back at Target Field after hosting the All-Star game on Tuesday. The Twins added Kendrys Morales in early June to bolster their offence and try to remain in contention, but have faltered since. They did win five of their last six before the break and kicked off a 10-game homestand Friday. NOTES: Minnesota activated rookie IF/OF Danny Santana and sent reserve OF Chris Herrmann to Triple-A Rochester before the game. ... The Rays called up C Curt Casali from Triple-A Durham and transferred OF Wil Myers from the 15- to the 60-day disabled list. Casali led off the third and lined a single for his first major-league hit. ... Twins GM Terry Ryan said 1B Joe Mauer is "making steady progress" from an oblique strain, but has not resumed batting activities. ... David Price (9-7, 3.23 ERA), whos been in Minneapolis all week as the Rays lone All-Star and is a possible trade piece if the Rays are out of contention, faces Phil Hughes (10-5, 3.92) Saturday night. Steven Adams Jersey . Jim Leyland, in his eighth playoffs, has never had a starting rotation he trusts as much as the grouping of Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Anibal Sanchez and Doug Fister. Russell Westbrook Jersey . Beanballs were the theme Friday night as the Red Sox and Rays had another AL East rumble, with Boston earning a 3-2 victory on A. http://www.authenticthunderauthority.com/kevin-durant-thunder-jersey-c-5/ . - Vince Wilfork has played only two career games in Kansas City. Gary Payton Jersey . -- The anointed starting quarterback for the Oakland Raiders is strengthening his hold on the position this training camp instead of losing it. Kyle Singler Jersey . - Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte sees the commitment to the handoff and cant help but come away impressed.ST. LOUIS -- T.J. Oshie scored twice and Brian Elliott made 30 saves to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 5-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. St. Louis has won four in a row and six of seven. Los Angeles lost a season-high fifth successive game. The Kings previous five-game losing streak came Dec. 3-13, 2011. Oshie scored twice in a 91-second span in the second period to push the lead to 3-0. After his second tally, the standing-room only crowd of 19,839 broke into chants of, "USA, USA," in honour of Oshies selection to the United States Olympic team Wednesday. It was the first two-goal game of the season for Oshie. Elliott, who improved to 11-1-2, picked up his third shutout of the season and 24th of his career. He stopped 13 shots in the opening period, including a pad save on Jarret Stoll. Brenden Morrow, Vladimir Tarasenko and Barret Jackman also scored for St. Louis. Morrow scored just 4:42 into the game to give the Blues to a 1-0 lead. Kevin Shattenkirk, another Olympic team selection, missed on a long shot, but Morrow pounced on the rebound at the side of the net and banked it in off goalie Martin Jones. Oshie scored on the power play at 11:41 of the second offf the rebound of a shot by Jaden Schwartz.ddddddddddddLess than two minutes later, Oshie whipped a shot behind replacement Ben Scrivens. Jones, who fell to 8-3, gave up two goals on 14 shots and was pulled after Oshies first tally. The Kings had won 15 of the previous 18 games between the teams including post-season play. Los Angeles won four successive games after falling behind 2-0 in the opening round of the Western Conference playoffs last season and also swept the Blues in four games in the 2012 conference semifinals. Notes: St. Louis RW Ryan Reaves returned to the lineup after missing 17 games with a broken hand. ... The Kings have outscored their opponents by 15 goals in the first period this season. ... St. Louis G Jaroslav Halak missed the game due to the flu. He is listed day to day. Jake Allen was recalled from the Chicago Wolves of the AHL to serve as backup. ... St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock recorded his 100th regular-season win with the Blues. ... Jones lost his third in a row after a franchise-record 8-0 start to his career. ... St. Louis RW David Backes, the third St. Louis player chosen to the Olympic team, missed his third successive game with an upper-body injury. ' ' '