Rays 12, Twins 6: Matt Joyce homered and had four RBIs as visiting Tampa Bay exploded for six runs in the second inning en route to its fourth straight victory.

Jose Molina recorded three RBIs, B.J. Upton added two and Desmond Jennings had three hits and three runs scored for the Rays, who are tied with Oakland, a half-game out of an American League wild-card spot.

The Rays' Jeremy Hellickson (7-7) improved to 4-1 on the road this season. He allowed three runs and seven hits in five innings.

Joe Mauer went 3-for-4 and Ryan Doumit homered for the Twins, who lost for only the fifth time in their last 14 games.

Twins rookie Cole De Vries (2-3) extended his winless streak to eight starts. He yielded eight runs (seven earned) and seven hits in 1 1/3 innings in the shortest outing of his career.

Joyce followed his two-run blast in the first inning with a two-run double in the second to chase De Vries and make it 7-1. Molina, Jennings and Evan Longoria also had run-scoring hits in the second.

The Rays added four runs in the sixth inning on Molina's two-run single and Upton's two-run double to take a 12-3 lead.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Tampa Bay DH Luke Scott (oblique) was to begin a rehab assignment with Class-A Charlotte on Friday and is expected to join the Rays next week. ... The Rays hadn't won four straight since June 7-10. ... Twins 3B Trevor Plouffe (right thumb), out since July 20, will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Rochester on Saturday. ... De Vries is 0-2 with six no-decisions in his last eight outings. ... Longoria went 1-for-3 and is 5-for-15 with four RBIs in four games since returning from a hamstring injury that sidelined him for 85 games. ... Tampa Bay reliever J.P. Howell extended his scoreless innings streak to 22 covering 17 outings since June 14.