St. Petersburg, FL – Roberto Hernandez tossed his eighth career complete game as the Tampa Bay Rays downed the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5-2, in the opener of a brief two-game interleague set at Tropicana Field.
Hernandez (6-11) scattered five hits and a walk while fanning six to pick up his second win in three starts.
Ben Zobrist went 3-for-4 with two RBI and Yunel Escobar had two hits, including a solo homer, and two RBI for the Rays, who improved to 23-4 over their last 27 games.
Tampa also maintained a half-game lead over Boston in the AL East.
Ian Kennedy (3-8) was tagged for three runs on six hits and three walks over five innings.
Eric Chavez had a two-run homer and Gerardo Parra scored a run for the D'backs, who fell three games behind the surging Dodgers for first place in the NL West standings.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.