ST. PETERSBURG – Once they got past the all the hellos and the hugs and the how’s-it-going’s with manager Rocco Baldelli and the four other former mates now in Twins colors, the Rays were faced with a seemingly more arduous task Thursday:
How to beat the best team in baseball.
That proved to be the easy part.
The Rays rolled to a rare no-stress victory, beating the Twins 14-3 to extend their winning streak to a season-high six games, improve their record to 35-19 and encroach to within one-half game of the AL East-leading Yankees, who were rained out.