Coors Field is not supposed to produce quiet nights. This one was. Nick Martinez and three Tampa Bay relievers combined to hold the Rockies scoreless, and four runs were all the Rays needed in a 4-0 win.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TB | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| COL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
Martinez was the story before the bullpen ever took over. He worked 5.2 innings, allowing 6 hits with no runs, no walks and 4 strikeouts, needing only 75 pitches to get through the Colorado lineup twice. The bullpen picked up right where he left off, tossing 3.1 innings without allowing a run, and the shutout held from wire to wire. Martinez improved to 11-3 on the season, carrying a 2.65 ERA.
Tampa Bay did its scoring early and let the pitching carry the rest. In the first inning, Aranda singled to left to bring home Mesa Jr., and Simpson followed with a single that scored Aranda for a quick 2-0 lead. Caminero added to it in the third, homering to left field on a 449-foot shot that made it 3-0. The Rays tacked on an insurance run in the seventh when Mesa Jr.'s sacrifice bunt to first brought home Walls.
Colorado starter Tomoyuki Sugano lasted 5.0 innings, allowing 3 runs, all earned, on 5 hits with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. He fell to 11-5 with a 4.51 ERA. The Rockies bullpen allowed just 1 run over 4.0 innings, but by then the damage from Martinez and the Tampa Bay lineup was already done, and Colorado's offense never found an answer, managing 6 hits but no runs across nine innings.
The win extended Tampa Bay's streak to three straight and pushed the Rays to 68-46, sitting atop their division. Colorado, meanwhile, dropped its third straight and fell to 45-70.