Rays pitchers dominate, shut out Indians

Jesus Aguilar belted a three-run homer to cap a four-run seventh inning as the Tampa Bay Rays recorded a 4-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Friday in St. Petersburg, Fla. Avisail Garcia had an RBI single with one out in the seventh inning for the Rays, who have won two consecutive overall and four of five against Cleveland this season.

The teams combined for just eight hits through the first 6 1/2 scoreless innings before Austin Meadows singled to right field off Shane Bieber (12-7) to lead off the seventh. Meadows advanced to third on a shallow single to center by Travis d'Arnaud before coming around to score on Garcia's single to left field. That spelled the end of the evening for Bieber, who saw Aguilar deposit a 1-1 slider from Adam Cimber over the wall in left field for his 10th homer of the season and second with Tampa Bay.

Oliver Drake (3-1) relieved starter Austin Pruitt and allowed just one hit over 1 2/3 scoreless innings to pick up the win. Colin Poche bridged the gap to Andrew Kittredge, who retired the side in the ninth to preserve the win. Pruitt received a no-decision despite scattering four hits and striking out six in 5 1/3 innings. The 29-year-old departed after tossing 77 pitches -- 52 for strikes -- while making his first start in nearly two years.

Cleveland outfielder Tyler Naquin sustained a sprained right knee after crashing into the low wall along the left-field foul line while chasing a line drive by Joey Wendle in the fifth inning. Rookie center fielder Oscar Mercado immediately motioned for the trainer to assist Naquin, who remained on the field for several minutes before being carted off. Indians All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor went 0-for-4 to see his 11-game hitting streak come to a halt.

Prior to the game, Cleveland right-hander Carlos Carrasco rejoined the team after a minor league rehab stint and will be reinstated from the 60-day injured list Sunday. The 32-year-old hasn't pitched in the majors since being diagnosed with leukemia in late May. --Field Level Media

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)