Nothing separated Tampa Bay and Houston for most of the night, but a late swing changed everything. Junior Caminero's homer in the ninth gave the Rays the lead they would not surrender.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| TB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Drew Rasmussen set the tone for Tampa Bay with a sharp seven-inning outing, allowing only one earned run and striking out four. Bryan Baker followed with a scoreless inning to protect the advantage.
Isaac Paredes scored when Yainer Diaz grounded into a force out in the fourth, putting Houston ahead. Victor Mesa Jr. answered with a homer in the fifth to tie the game. In the ninth, Caminero's homer brought Jonny DeLuca home and put Tampa Bay in front.
Houston's Bryan Abreu was charged with the loss after Tampa Bay broke the tie against him. The Astros' offense could not answer after Caminero's blast.
The Rays extended their winning streak, and the late swing gave the game its defining shape.
Tampa Bay Rays defeated Houston Astros, 3-1.
- Victor Mesa went 1-for-2 with 1 home run, 1 RBI and 1 run scored (batting .250 on the season).
- Junior Caminero went 1-for-4 with 1 home run, 2 RBIs and 1 run scored (batting .279 on the season).
- Daulton Varsho went 1-for-4 (batting .228 on the season).
- Bryan Baker allowed 0 runs on 0 hits over 1.0 inning, striking out 1, to earn the win (2-2) (1.58 ERA).
- Bryan Abreu allowed 2 runs on 2 hits over 0.1 innings, striking out 1, and took the loss (6-4) (3.86 ERA).
Tampa Bay Rays improved to 88-59; Houston Astros fell to 75-73.