Alex Jackson and Yandy Diaz hit back-to-back homers in the fifth inning, Zack Littell tossed seven scoreless innings, and the Tampa Bay Rays blanked the Cincinnati Reds 4-0 on Saturday in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Littell (4-7) allowed three hits with one walk and five strikeouts for Tampa Bay, which won for the third time in its last five games.
Kevin Kelly and Colin Poche each pitched a scoreless inning to help the Rays even the three-game interleague series after Cincinnati won the opener 3-2 in 10 innings on Friday.
Cincinnati was held to four singles and saw its three-game winning streak end.
The Rays took a 1-0 lead in the second inning against Andrew Abbott (9-7) when Jose Siri’s fielder’s choice grounder scored Curtis Mead from third.
The score remained that way until the bottom of the fifth, when the Rays pounded Abbott, forcing him from the game without recording an out.
Jackson and Diaz began the inning with their home runs — Jackson’s third and Diaz’s ninth — then Amed Rosario and Brandon Lowe hit back-to-back doubles to make the score 4-0. Tony Santillan replaced Abbott after that and walked Isaac Paredes before retiring the next three batters in order.
Abbott allowed four runs on eight hits over four-plus innings. He walked two and struck out two.
The Reds’ best scoring threat against Littell, who earned his first victory since July 2, came with runners on the corners and two outs in the fourth inning. But Littell escaped unscathed when Jeimer Candelario lined out.
Tampa Bay improved to 39-2 when leading after seven innings. After the Reds put a runner on in the ninth on Spencer Steer’s one-out walk, Poche retired the next two batters to secure the victory.
–Field Media