Drew Rasmussen made two solo homers stand up for six-plus innings, and that was all the Tampa Bay Rays needed. The Rays beat the Seattle Mariners 2-1 at T-Mobile Park, with Rasmussen setting the tone from the mound and Julio Rodriguez's ninth-inning homer arriving too late to matter.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TB | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| SEA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
Rasmussen was the story. Over 7.0 innings, he allowed just two hits and no runs, walking two and striking out eight on 91 pitches. He turned a one-run lead into a comfortable cushion simply by not letting Seattle's lineup find any traction, and Bryan Baker closed it out with a scoreless save, his 33rd of the season, despite allowing Rodriguez's homer.
The scoring came early and stayed put. Jonny DeLuca homered to center in the second inning, a 398-foot shot that gave Tampa Bay a lead it would not relinquish. Jonathan Aranda followed in the third with a solo homer to right, pushing the margin to 2-0. Seattle's only run came in the ninth, when Julio Rodriguez homered to left off Baker, but it was merely a consolation blow with the Rays already in control.
Logan Gilbert took the loss despite a solid outing of his own, working 6.2 innings and allowing two runs on four hits with four walks and six strikeouts. The two solo shots by DeLuca and Aranda were the difference, as Seattle's bats otherwise had little to show against Rasmussen and finished with four hits as a team.
Tampa Bay extended its winning streak to four games, improving to 69-46 and holding first place in its division. Seattle, held to a single run, fell to 56-61 while dropping its second straight.