Tampa Bay 6, Texas 0

Rays 6, Rangers 0: B.J. Upton hit three home runs and James Shields tossed a two-hitter for his eighth career shutout to lead the host Rays.

Upton hit solo shots in the first, fourth and sixth innings to become only the third player in franchise history with a three-homer game, joining Jonny Gomes (2005) and Evan Longoria (2008).

Jose Molina added a two-run homer for the Rays, who remain two games out of first place in the American League East. Texas has a 3 1/2-game lead in the AL West, following Oakland’s win over Seattle.

Shields (14-8) struck out eight and didn’t walk anyone while winning for the sixth time in seven decisions. He allowed an infield hit to Nelson Cruz in the second and didn’t allow another until David Murphy lined a single with two outs in the eighth. Shields pitched a perfect ninth to wrap up his second shutout of the season.

Upton hit the first pitch of the game from Roy Oswalt (4-3) over the right-center field. Matt Joyce had a run-scoring double later in the inning.

Molina’s two-run blast in the second gave the Rays a four-run cushion. Upton went deep again in the fourth by hammering a 3-0 pitch from Martin Perez over the left-field fence.

Upton’s third homer was on a first-pitch curveball from Perez in the sixth.

Oswalt left after two innings due to elbow soreness. He allowed four runs and six hits.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Tampa Bay 1B Carlos Pena struck out for the 166th time to tie his own franchise mark set in 2008. … Oswalt was making his first start since August 23 as scheduled starter Matt Harrison had his outing pushed back to Tuesday. … Rays OF Desmond Jennings (back) missed his second consecutive contest. … Rangers leadoff man Ian Kinsler was just 1-for-12 in the series.

• Tampa Bay will play their next game on the road against Baltimore. The Rays have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .524 after a loss.
• Texas will play their next game at home against Cleveland. The Rangers have a W/L % of .524 after a win and .696 after a loss.