Odorizzi opens well as Rays beat Marlins, halt skid

MIAMI — Jake Odorizzi was great at the start, and Alex Colome provided just as good a finish.

Everything else for the Tampa Bay Rays was an adventure.

Odorizzi allowed two hits in five shutout innings, Colome got a two-inning save and the Rays held on to beat the Miami Marlins 4-3 on Tuesday, ending a three-game slide.

“We needed a win today to turn this road trip in the positive,” said Rays Manager Kevin Cash, whose club finished an eight-game trip 5-3. “With the way we started we had to finish a little better than the way we were going. It was a big win.”

Odorizzi (2-2) struck out seven and walked three, plus delivered an RBI single for his first career hit. Hank Conger hit a two-run single, Logan Morrison had three hits and Brad Miller had two hits and two stolen bases for the Rays.

Giancarlo Stanton hit his 12th home run for the Marlins, snapping a 6-for-57 drought. He was in the ondeck circle when Colome capped his 12th save by striking out Justin Bour looking to end the game.

“He’s starting to see the ball better,” Marlins Manager Don Mattingly said. “That’s really what you want.”

Marcell Ozuna doubled twice and reached for the 31st consecutive game, while Bour and Derek Dietrich added two hits for Miami.

RED SOX 8, ROCKIES 3 David Price scattered five hits over seven innings and Jackie Bradley Jr. had a pair of hits to extend his streak to 28 games as the Boston Red Sox beat the Colorado Rockies.

TIGERS 3, PHILLIES 1 Justin Verlander struck out 10 in eight scoreless innings, and

Francisco Rodriguez held on for his 400th save in the Detroit Tigers’ victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

PIRATES 12, DIAMONDBACKS 1 Gregory Polanco hit a three-run home run and drove in a career-best five runs as the Pittsburgh Pirates rolled by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

NATIONALS 7, METS 4 Stephen Strasburg remained unbeaten with an 11-strikeout performance, and the Washington Nationals hit three of their season-high five home runs off struggling Matt Harvey in a victory over the New York Mets.

BREWERS 2, BRAVES 1 Scooter Gennett’s tiebreaking single in the eighth inning lifted the Milwaukee Brewers to a victory over Atlanta, spoiling Brian Snitker’s home debut as the Braves’ interim manager.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

ROYALS 7, TWINS 4 Salvador Perez hit a two-run home run, Lorenzo Cain had four hits and two RBI, and the Kansas City Royals picked up where their bats left off the night before while beating the tumbling Minnesota Twins. Wade Davis worked a wobbly ninth inning for his 12th save in 13 attempts, preserving the seventh victory for the Royals in their last nine contests.

They raised their two-game total in Minnesota this week to 30 hits and improved to 5-0 against the Twins this season. After going 5 for 5 in the series opener, missing the cycle by a home run, Perez went deep just one day and a couple of innings too late. The three-time All-Star catcher followed a leadoff walk by Kendrys Morales in the second inning with a soaring drive off his 2013 teammate Ervin Santana that landed in the grass behind the wall in center field for a 2-0 lead.

RANGERS 4, ANGELS 1 Martin Perez finally got a victory after another strong May start and rookie Nomar Mazara homered in his home park for the first time, leading the Texas Rangers to a victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

YANKEES 6, BLUE JAYS 0 A resurgent Nathan Eovaldi combined with his bullpen on a two-hitter to win his fifth consecutive decision, and the Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays to extend their winning streak to six games.

INDIANS 6, WHITE SOX 2 Josh Tomlin beat Chris Sale in a one-sided matchup of unbeaten pitchers and Francisco Lindor had three hits, leading the Cleveland Indians to a victory over the Chicago White Sox.