Rays 2, Braves 0
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Erasmo Ramirez pitched seven shutout innings and center fielder Kevin Kiermaier delivered a two-run homer in the seventh to lead the Tampa Bay Rays to a 2-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night at Tropicana Field.
The Rays (57-56) won their third straight and moved above .500 for the first time in 20 games. The Braves (51-62) had won three of four coming in, but had 16 straight batters retired from the second to eighth inning by Ramirez (9-4).
Braves starter Williams Perez matched Ramirez zero for zero until the eighth, when the Rays got their third hit of the game on an infield single by shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. With one out, Kiermaier sent a pitch over the wall in right field for his fifth home run of the season.
The Rays closed out the win with strong relief as Brandon Gomes inherited a runner in the eighth, but got three straight outs.
Gomes got the first out of the ninth, with Xavier Cedeno recording the final two outs for his first save of the season and giving the regular late-inning bullpen a night off. Cedeno is the seventh Rays pitcher to record a save this season.
It's the 10th time this season the Rays have won while scoring one or two runs.
For six innings, Perez and Ramirez were locked in a scoreless duel, with Perez holding the Rays to just two hits in those six innings.
The Rays' only early offense came in the second inning, with a single from second baseman Logan Forsythe and a ground-rule double by Cabrera. That put two in scoring position with one out, but Perez got out of the jam, getting right fielder Daniel Nava to line out to shallow left, then getting Kiermaier to pop out to right field to end the inning.
The Braves struggled against Ramirez as well, getting two hits in the first but failing to score. Center fielder Cameron Maybin singled and tried to score on a double by designated hitter Nick Markakis, but he was thrown out at home by Nava.
Atlanta added two hits in the second on singles by third baseman Adonis Garcia and shortstop Andrelton Simmons, but right fielder Eury Perez popped out to end the inning.
From there, Ramirez retired the next 12 batters in order, keeping the shutout through six innings. The Rays had leadoff walks in the first and fifth innings, but Perez got double plays to avoid damage both times.
NOTES: Rays SS Asdrubal Cabrera entered Tuesday's game hitting .465 (20-for-43) since returning from the disabled list on July 28, including a streak of six straight games with multiple hits that ended Sunday. ... Braves OF Nick Markakis has the majors' best batting average in interleague games since it began in 1997, with a career average of .337. He was 17-for-44 (.386) in 12 games this season entering Tuesday's game. ... Tampa Bay came in with an eight-game streak with at least one home run, its longest streak in more than two years, going back to May 2013. That was a 17-game streak. The Rays have 27 home runs in 21 games since the All-Star break, after getting 78 in 91 games before the break.