 got four outs in relief.Garcia's eighth homer came off Dylan Floro, who entered with a 0.44 ERA - best among NL relievers. Floro (1-1) pitched to four batters and got none of them out.Kiermaier capped the big inning with his fourth home run, which came off left-hander Caleb Ferguson.Pham led off the fourth with his sixth homer, an opposite-field shot off starter Rich Hill.Max Muncy tied it with a homer in the sixth off Rays reliever Yonny Chirinos. It was Muncy's 10th homer of the season and eighth on the road.Tampa Bay opener Ryne Stanek pitched 1 2/3 innings, giving up a hit and a walk while striking out two.After Muncy's home run in the sixth, Bellinger kept the inning going by beating a throw to first base to prevent a double play. He tried to score the lead run on Russell Martin's two-out single, but Kiermaier threw him out.Bellinger's 45-game on-base streak to start the season stands as the sixth-longest in major league history. The longest, 57 games, was accomplished by John Olerud of the New York Mets in 1999.TRAINER'S ROOMDodgers: RHP Pedro Baez will be available to pitch Friday after being hit by a line drive just below the right knee Tuesday night. ... RHP Kenta Maeda (left adductor strain) will pitch Sunday at Pittsburgh, his first start since May 15.Rays: 3B-1B Yandy Diaz, hit on the left hand by a pitch Sunday, was out of the lineup for the second straight game. ... INF Joey Wendle, out since April 26 with a broken right wrist, had his cast removed and will increase range of motion and strengthening drills. ... Rehabbing INF Matt Duffy aggravated his strained left hamstring and will be evaluated.UP NEXTDodgers: RHP Walker Buehler (4-1, 3.83 ERA) will pitch Friday night's opener of a three-game series at Pittsburgh.Rays: A four-game series starts Thursday night at Cleveland, where the Rays are 27-51 all-time.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Pitching-rich Dodgers, Rays face off in series finaleFLMTwo of the best pitching staffs in baseball will not have much time to get acquainted as their two-game interleague series concludes Wednesday night in St. Petersburg, Fla.The Tampa Bay Rays, who lead baseball with a 3.05 staff ERA, are playing host to a Los Angeles Dodgers team that is trying its best to be an unruly visitor. The Dodgers took a 7-3 victory in the series opener Tuesday as Clayton Kershaw held the Rays scoreless into the seventh inning.The strong outing from Kershaw gives the Dodgers a 3.36 staff ERA, which ranks second in the National League. The Cincinnati Reds passed the Dodgers for first place in the NL at 3.34 when they shut out the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday.The Dodgers now turn to another left-hander, Rich Hill, who was an unexpected weak link on the starting staff after he returned from a knee injury that delayed the start to his season.Hill gave up 11 runs over his first three starts beginning with his April 28 return, but his 4.20 ERA at that point could have been worse if not for four unearned runs. Then came his start Friday at Cincinnati when he struck out 10 and gave up two hits over six scoreless innings, doing it all in a tidy 84 pitches.It left Hill 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA and a sense that the expected No. 2 starter when the season began is now in sync with his trusty breaking ball and a far simpler plan moving forward."We really just went back to the drawing board, stuck with fastballs and breaking balls," Hill said after Friday's game. "Just getting the fastball down and throwing everything downhill so it opens up the top of the zone as well." Because of his time in the American League, the veteran Hill does have 11 appearances (two starts) against the Rays and has a 2-0 record with a 4.82 ERA.Hunter Wood started and gave up an unearned run in two innings Tuesday for Tampa Bay. That gives Rays starters an AL-leading 2.48 ERA, the best in baseball. After Kershaw allowed two runs, the Dodgers' ERA is 2.99 from their starters, best in the NL.After Tuesday's game, the Rays named right-hander Ryne Stanek (0-1, 3.70 ERA) as their opener on Wednesday. Stanek will be making his major-league-leading 13th start, but none have gone more than two innings.His last outing as an opener came Friday against the New York Yankees when he gave up one run over two innings and struck out three. He has never faced the Dodgers during his three major league seasons.While the clash between top pitching staffs was quick, there is another short series between the teams later this season. The Rays will visit Dodger Stadium for two games Sept. 17-18.Tuesday was the start of a stretch where the Rays will play 13 consecutive days, followed by a stretch where they play 21 games in 20 days."It's going to be a test, physically and mentally," Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier said, according to the Tampa Bay Times. "You have to find ways." The Rays expect infielder Yandy Diaz to return to the lineup Wednesday. He was a late scratch Tuesday, two days after he was hit on the left hand by a pitch in a Sunday road game against the New York Yankees.--Field Level Media
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