St. Petersburg, FL -- (Sports Network) - Carlos Pena went 3-for-5 with a double and two runs batted in, as the Tampa Bay Rays extended their winning streak to seven games with a 9-2 win over the Kansas City Royals.

James Shields (7-5) allowed two runs on four hits in seven innings to pick up the win, and had eight strikeouts to one walk. Shields has won three straight starts, as Tampa Bay's win streak is the longest of its season. The American League East-leading Rays have twice won six games in a row.

Evan Longoria hit a two-run home run, while B.J. Upton finished 2-for-4 with two RBI. Carl Crawford added a pair of hits and an RBI for Tampa Bay, which will go for the four-game sweep of the series on Monday.

"Right now, theory is meeting with reality and it's fun to see," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "Individually we don't necessarily stand out, but as a team we totally stand out."

Luke Hochevar (5-7) took the loss after allowing seven runs on nine hits in four frames of work, as the Royals lost their third in a row and fifth of their last six.

"Today was an instance where (Hochevar) has got to be able to make adjustments, pitch-to-pitch," Royals manager Trey Hillman said. "Very good in the first, a little shaky in the second, wheels fell off in the third."

Esteban German drove in both runs for Kansas City, while Ross Gload had two hits.

The Royals actually took the early lead. After Shields struck out four of the first five batters faced, Gload reached base on a slow grounder to short with two outs. John Buck followed with a double to put both runners in scoring position, and German smacked a single to center for a 2-0 Kansas City edge.

Tampa Bay got one run back in the home half, though. Pena led off with a bunt single, and Longoria was hit by a pitch. After Willy Aybar singled to load the bases, Ben Zobrist brought in a run on a fielder's choice grounder to first.

Starting in the third inning, though, the Rays pulled away for good. Consecutive one-out singles from Akinori Iwamura and Crawford, followed by an Upton ground out, put runners in scoring position.

Pena then smoked a double down the right field line to plate both runners and thrust Tampa Bay in front. Longoria followed by blasting a long home run to left-center field for a 5-2 Rays lead.

In the bottom of the fourth, after Shawn Riggans walked, Crawford lined a two- out hit over shortstop Tony Pena's head. Upton then fought off a pitch, only to have the ball speed down the first base line inside the bag for a double, plating both runners for a 7-2 edge.

Gross led off the sixth with his seventh homer of the season, and Crawford's sacrifice fly brought Iwamura -- who had tripled -- home, to complete the game's scoring.

After the second inning, Shields kept the Royals off the scoreboard. He allowed a Mark Teahen walk in the fourth, and a Gload double in the seventh, but was otherwise flawless. Gary Glover worked a scoreless eighth and Trever Miller finished the contest in the ninth.

Game Notes:

Major League Baseball announced the rosters for its annual All-Star Game on Sunday. Pitcher Scott Kazmir and catcher Dioner Navarro both made the roster for the Rays, while pitcher Joakim Soria was Kansas City's only selection...Zobrist had homered in three consecutive games coming into Sunday's contest, but went 0-for-4...Tampa Bay's Matt Garza (7-4, 3.47 ERA) and Kansas City's Gil Meche (6-9, 4.74 ERA) are scheduled to start Monday's series finale.