MINNEAPOLIS -- Evan Longoria is finally in Tampa Bays lineup again, and the Rays have celebrated his return this week with some of their best games of the season. Their surge is hardly a coincidence. Matt Joyce hit a two-run homer and a two-run double, Jose Molina drove in three runs, and the Rays beat the Minnesota Twins 12-6 on Friday night to keep pace in the crowded American League wild card race with their ninth win in 12 games. "Some people argue that can happen with economics. It can happen within a baseball team, too. So yeah, I like the trickle-down effect," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "I think it has impacted the bottom of the batting order, and you know Longos presence has made a difference. Hes been the spark." Jeremy Hellickson (7-7) won for the third time in four starts despite lasting only five innings. He had an 8-1 lead after a six-run second by the Rays, who batted around twice and won their fourth straight game. This is their longest streak since June 7-10. Tampa Bay won six in a row twice earlier in the season. "From the get-go I think we were pretty excited about our team and the offence that we were going to have," said Joyce, who is hitting right in front of Longoria. "Weve had to deal with a lot of injuries, and gradually weve kind of got some guys back." Longoria drove in a run with a second-inning single, giving him four RBIs in four games since coming back from his 85-game absence caused by a partially torn left hamstring. Maddon spoke before the game about the boost Longoria has given to the teams spirit just by being in the lineup, and the Rays improved to 19-8 this season when he is. "In this game sometimes you can outthink yourself, so if it gives anyone in here a little bit of an edge or a lift or whatever, then I guess Im doing my job," said Longoria, 5 for 15 since his return. The Twins had won nine of 13, but rookie Cole De Vries (2-3) was roughed up from the first pitch. Desmond Jennings hit the first of a season-high six doubles by the Rays and scored on Joyces no-doubt drive to right field. De Vries got only four outs and gave up seven hits, eight runs and 14 total bases, his ERA soaring from 3.81 to 4.77 in his 11th start of 2012. "It just came on so quick and so hard that before I knew it I was already out of the game," De Vries said. The Rays started a 10-game trip in style, finishing one short of their season-high score, 13 at Miami on June 9. They started the day in what is essentially a five-team chase for the two wild card spots, one game behind Oakland and a half-game back of Baltimore and Detroit. Ben Zobrist, playing shortstop for the second straight game, was the only starter without a hit. He grounded into three double plays, tying the franchise record set by Javier Valentin in 2003. But he made two slick pick-ups of ground balls up the middle, including one that ended the first inning with Josh Willingham on first. Willingham had driven in Joe Mauer with a single for his 85th RBI, third-most in the AL behind Miguel Cabrera and Josh Hamilton. This was Mauers 12th three-hit game of the season, on the night when the first 20,000 fans through the gates got his replica sideburns as a souvenir. Hellickson finished at least six innings in all five of his July starts, but he has totalled only nine innings in two August turns. Still, with the large early lead he breezed to another victory, despite allowing seven hits and three runs with two walks and three strikeouts. Jeff Manship relieved De Vries and retired 11 straight batters until stumbling during a four-run sixth on Molinas two-run single and B.J. Uptons two-run double. "You get knocked around like that early, and it kind of takes the fight out of you for a little bit," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. NOTES: Maddon said Longoria will stay as the DH on this trip and not move back to 3B. "If it were to happen it would be a great surprise," Maddon said. ... Rays LH J.P. Howell stretched his scoreless streak to 22 innings, tying RH Fernando Rodney for the longest in franchise history. ... All-Star LH David Price (14-4, 2.49 ERA) will pitch for the Rays on Saturday night, trying to become the first in the franchises 15-year history to reach 15 or more wins in two seasons. RH Nick Blackburn (4-7, 7.42 ERA) will take the mound for the Twins for the 18th time this year. Cheap Jerseys . Marouane Fellaini headed Everton in front in the 33rd minute but conceded a penalty 10 minutes later after tangling with Edin Dzeko, allowing Carlos Tevez to equalize from the spot. NFL Stitched Jerseys . -- Jrue Holiday had 27 points and Nick Young added 22 as the Philadelphia 76ers held off the Orlando Magic 102-95 in a preseason game Thursday night. http://www.nflcheapjerseysstitched.... . "Team B" went on a spending spree adding an MVP candidate at shortstop, a top-notch starting pitcher and a blue chip closer. Team A kept its payroll in the $70 to $80 million range. [url=http://www.nflcheapjerseysstitched.com/]Cheap nfl Jerseys . -- Ryan Fitzpatrick threw into the end zone to the open man. Wholesale NFL Jerseys . -- Greg Zipadelli met Danica Patrick just over a week ago, with very little time to prepare for their first test session together.VANCOUVER – He pulls out the retractable blade and carefully filets the navy-coloured tape off the end of his stick. Perfection. Mikhail Grabovski is finally satisfied with at least one stick heading into a tilt with the Canucks on Saturday. Trade rumours and contract negotiations – hes an impending unrestricted free agent – seem to exist on a world largely distant from the one the 28-year-old currently inhabits. Rather, its the current batch of Eastons hes got in stock that seem to be of greatest concern. "I dont care at all," he told TSN.ca of trade and contract speculation. "Not at all. I just care about my sticks." "Serious," he insisted. "Im serious. I dont care. I dont tell myself anything. If I hear that from my coach or general manager that start bothering me, but not about the newspaper or radio." Pointless in the last five games and without a goal in the last eight, Grabovski has been manically obsessing over his tool of expression in the past couple weeks and not the ever-increasing innuendo which surrounds his future in Toronto. "Youre exactly right," Ron Wilson agreed. "All hes concerned about are his sticks." "Somehow his patterns different. They threw out his pattern or something… Itll be a fraction, an eighth of an inch. Sometimes its your own mind, but youve got to tell yourself its your stick, so you look for the magic stick. "Its driving him nuts." Grabovski led the Leafs with eight goals and 16 points in January, but has cooled off in February with no goals and just four assists to date. For Wilsons money, the recent cold spell has had little to do with the fast approaching trade deadline. "His names been bantered around all season long," Wilson said. "Hes like everybody else in our league, he goes on two and three week scoring binges and then a week or two dry and it comes back again. Ive talked to Grabo about [the speculation] and I dont think that bothers him at all to be honest with you." Well on his way to a second consecutive season neighbouring 30 goals and 60 points – 18 goals and 39 points currently – Grabovski is due a significant raise from the $3.1 million hes making this season, the last of a three-year deal signed in the summer of 2009. Happy in Toronto with partner Kate and their two children Jaeger and Leeliah, Grabovski is content to leave contract talk firmly in the hands of his agent, Gary Greenstin, with the two exchanging the odd text or two a week. "He is more worried about that than me," Grabovski said. "He tell me concentrate on hockey... He know exactly whats going with my price or some of that stuff, money. I dont want to worry about it right now. For me more important just team make the playoffs, play hockey." Five Points 1. Long a fan of Grabovski and his penchant for improvement, Wilson didnt hide his preference for how the situation with his top centreman will play out, certainly aware of the potential for distraction. "It probably is [tough]," Wilson said, "and its tough for a coach to go through too because hes consistently – over the last two years – been one of our better forwards; he plays both ends. But for some reason his names always thrown out there and now it seems to me more of a contract issue – will he be resigned? – and Im pretty positive he will be, but thats not for me to decide." 2. Added Wilson of the stick dilemma, "When youre skating around I dont think having the wrong stick should ever bother you defensively and thats what Ive said to him, Okay, if the puck doesnt go in or it goes over the net on every shot then its your stick, but its not your stick when youre checking in your own end. Its not your stick in some of the situations you find yourself in. Its got nothing to do with your stick. Ive heard all the excuses or reasons why youre not successful. I dare somebody to come up with an original reason as to why youre not successful for a short bit of time. He scores [Saturday] night, you were using the same stiick that you didnt like yesterday and today its your magic stick so what are you going to do.ddddddddddddquot; 3. Dramatic in its turnaround from the month of December – 64% versus 97% in the New Year – the Leaf penalty kill has found another gear in terms of confidence (33-34 in 2012), never more evident than in the final two minutes of a tie game in Edmonton on Wednesday night. "When were going out with two minutes left to go and we need a kill to make sure we come away with at least a point in a game were going to get it done as a group," Dave Steckel told TSN.ca. "There was one point where no matter what we did, whether it was good, whether it was bad, it just seemed like every little bounce was going in the back of the net. And so its just human nature to go out there and be like What else can we do? Thats definitely changed around. Now were like alright were going to get this done and get right back to five-on-five. Lets create some momentum with our penalty kill." 4. Jake Gardiner could be the "most consistent defenceman the last 15 or 20 games" according to Wilson, all while making the game easier for whichever defenceman hes partnered with. "He gets back to pucks and he makes good decisions with the puck," Wilson said. "Hes fearless physically – and hes not a very big guy – but he uses his body really well, he protects the puck and he just bumps it along. Hes been well-coached along the way. And hes very reliable back there. Hes going to make a mistake every once in a while, like everybody in our league, but hes minimized the mistakes and he hasnt made the kinds of mistakes you would expect someone so young and if you want to say inexperienced, he hasnt made many of those rookie mistakes." Wilson along with the coaching staff and teammates have pressed Gardiner to shoot the puck more and jump into the play with greater frequency. "Wils has told me again and again to keep shooting the puck," Gardiner told TSN.ca, days after his third goal of the season and second in February. "And as I found out recently its been going in for me." "Weve given him a green light to go now in any situation because its been rare when he gives the puck away," added Wilson. 5. With a minus-6 rating in his last five games, John-Michael Liles has had some trouble finding his groove after missing 16 games with a neck injury. Liles has yet to record a point in eight games back. "Its seeing the game," Wilson said. "The order of the game the way he needs to [sees it], it just hasnt been there and thats what you get when youve had that kind of an injury. Your timings off. Your hockey sense is a little rattled. And John-Michael, the puzzle pieces are all there, but hes not seeing the ones that fit right. Its coming a little bit more and more, but I expect him in the next week or so to sort the game out." Bonus Points Wilson on trade deadline scenarios involving draft picks. "Im more of personally, body for body, warm body for warm body than draft picks, but every coach in the league feels the same way," he said. "Youre not worried about a second or third round draft pick because those guys are four or five years away. Coaches think in the very near present and future and managers think two and three years down the line. Thats the way the business always has been and thats the way it should be, that coaches are worrying about the game tomorrow night and the managers at times are worried about the games three years from now, but thats how you have to build a team."…Nursing a sprained right ankle, Carl Gunnarsson skated separately from teammates on Friday. Hes in line for a return next week, more than likely Thursday when Wilsons former team comes to town. "He better be ready for San Jose," Wilson said with a grin...Luke Schenn checks back into the lineup on Saturday after sitting as a healthy scratch in Edmonton. Mike Komisarek is likely to come out in his place...James Reimer makes his second consecutive start in goal. ' ' '