St. Petersburg, FL – Matt Moore spun seven scoreless innings of one-hit ball Friday as the Rays pounded the Marlins, 11-0, in the opener of a three-game set at Tropicana Field.
Moore (4-5) surrendered a single in the first, but allowed just four base runners the rest of the way on three walks and an error. Moore, who received the victory in the Rays' June 9th win over Miami, fanned eight.
"We obviously had a bunch of offense tonight, so that makes it a lot easier (to pitch)," said Moore. "It was definitely a good clean defensive game and that helped me get through seven."
Desmond Jennings finished with four RBI, Will Rhymes knocked in a pair and Ben Zobrist added a solo homer for the Rays, who have won eight straight games against the Marlins. Carlos Pena walked four times and also scored four runs.
Miami starter Carlos Zambrano (4-5) struggled with control issues, giving up four runs on three hits and six walks in just two-plus innings of work. Donovan Solano's single in the first was the only hit for Miami, which has dropped nine of its last 10 games.
"Not pitching and not hitting equals bad loss," Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen said. "It's as easy as that."
The Rays struck for three runs in the second as Zambrano issued consecutive walks to start the frame. Jose Lobaton then plated a run with a double to right before a walk to Elliot Johnson two batters later loaded the bases.
Jennings then singled through the left side to make it a two-run game and B.J. Upton coaxed a two-out walk to push home Lobaton and give the Rays a 3-0 lead.
Zobrist ripped a leadoff single in the third before Pena followed with a walk to signal an end to Zambrano's night as he was replaced by Chad Gaudin.
After a strikeout and a caught stealing, Rhymes singled to left, scoring Pena from second to give the home team a four-run lead.
Zobrist then launched a blast to right in the fifth to extend the edge to five before Pena worked a walk and came around to score on a Rhymes single to press the margin to 6-0.
Pena worked a two-out walk in the seventh and scored two batters later on a Sean Rodriguez single through the left side of the infield to give the Rays a 7-0 advantage.
A Johnson single then loaded the bases and Jennings quickly cleared them with a double into the left-field corner before coming around to score on Matt Joyce's single to center as the Rays grabbed an 11-0 lead.
Moore was done after seven frames, but Burke Badenhop and Brandon Gomes each fired a blank frame to keep the one-hit shutout intact.
Game Notes
Miami third baseman Hanley Ramirez was out of the lineup after being hit in the nose by a ball in the batting cage before the game...Gomes was recalled from Triple-A Durham to replace Luke Scott on the roster after Scott was sent to the 15-day disabled list with back stiffness...The Rays' eight straight wins over the Marlins is their longest such streak in franchise history against a National League opponent.
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