HOUSTON — John Jaso homered and drove in four runs, Ben Zobrist and Hank Blalock added solo shots and the Tampa Bay Rays overcame a shaky start by David Price in a 10-6 win over the Houston Astros on Sunday.
Carl Crawford stole three bases and scored three runs as the Rays moved their major league-leading road record to 19-5. The Rays are 32-12 overall, the best start in the majors since Seattle won 33 of its first 44 in 2001.
Price (7-1) came in with the top ERA in the AL (1.81), but the normally stagnant Houston offense scored five runs on him in five innings. Price still earned the win after Tampa Bay took the lead in the sixth against Houston reliever Brian Moehler (0-1).
Pedro Feliz and Hunter Pence homered for the Astros, who've lost eight of 10.
Houston starter Bud Norris had a career-high 10 strikeouts, but lasted only five innings. The Houston bullpen gave up five runs on nine hits.
The Astros scored four runs in the first inning — more than they'd scored in eight of their previous nine games. Price had not given up more than three runs in eight prior starts.
The first three hitters reached base and Carlos Lee drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Feliz followed with a three-run homer to left, the 1,000th by an Astro at Minute Maid Park.
Price had not given up a home run in five starts and after he walked Geoff Blum, pitching coach Jim Hickey visited the mound. Price walked rookie shortstop Tommy Manzella, a .186 hitter, but retired the next two batters to end a 41-pitch inning.
Zobrist led off the third with a homer to right. Crawford reached on Manzella's error, stole second and scored on Carlos Pena's single to make it 4-2.
Crawford walked in the fifth and Jaso hit a tying homer to right. Norris struck out Pena before Blalock drove a 1-0 pitch into the left-field porch to put the Rays up 5-4.
Pence re-tied it with a solo shot in the bottom half, his fifth in his last 15 games.
Moehler relieved Norris for the sixth, and yielded two runs without recording an out. Pinch hitter Willy Aybar and Zobrist hit back-to-back RBI singles to right, and Houston manager Brad Mills brought in left-hander Gustavo Chacin.
Joaquin Benoit replaced Price, marking just the ninth time this season that a Rays' starter had not lasted at least six innings. Benoit struck out the side in the sixth.
Jeff Keppinger doubled off Dan Wheeler in the seventh and scored on Pence's single to make it 7-6. But the Rays answered with a 3-run eighth off Chris Sampson, capped by Jaso's two-run double down the right-field line.
Rafael Soriano finished the ninth for his 13th save.
Notes
The Astros dropped to 13-4 when scoring at least four runs. … The Rays' 15 hits matched a season high. … Astros CF Michael Bourn served a one-game suspension, stemming from a confrontation with first-base umpire Alfonso Marquez on May 8. Bourn was initially suspended for two games, but appealed and got the penalty reduced.