Nick Martinez kept rolling, and the Tampa Bay Rays kept stacking wins.
Behind six scoreless innings from Martinez and a clean finish from the bullpen, Tampa Bay blanked the Cleveland Guardians 3-0 on Saturday at Tropicana Field to lock up another series victory. The Rays improved to 61 wins and held onto their two-game cushion atop the AL East after both they and the New York Yankees won on Saturday.
Martinez was sharp from the start and never let Cleveland find a rhythm. The right-hander earned his 10th win after allowing four hits, walking none and striking out five over six innings.
It was his 11th quality start of the season, matching his total from last year, and he is now two shy of the career-high 13 quality starts he posted in 2015, his second big league season. Tampa Bay is 16-4 when Martinez takes the mound.
The Rays bullpen did the rest. Cam Sulser, Garett Cleavinger and Bryan Baker combined to preserve the shutout while allowing just one hit in relief. Baker finished it off for his 27th save, which puts him second in MLB in that category.
Tampa Bay’s offense did enough without ever needing to break the game open. Seven of the nine starters collected hits, with Cedric Mullins and Ben Williamson the only ones who didn’t reach base; Mullins still drove in a run.
The Rays finished with nine hits and two extra-base hits. At the top of the lineup, Yandy Diaz, Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero combined to go 4-for-12 with an RBI, though the trio also struck out five times.
The Rays will go for the sweep on Sunday in the final regular-season meeting between the two teams. Drew Rasmussen, who is 8-5 with a 3.28 ERA, gets the ball for Tampa Bay against left-hander Parker Messick, who is 8-5 with a 2.68 ERA. First pitch is set for 12:15 PM EST, with the game available on Peacock.
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