Nationals beat Rays 8-1 to stop 4-game slide

BY MARK DIDTLER

Updated 7:53 p.m. EDT, June 29, 2024

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Jake Irvin pitched six efficient innings, CJ Abrams hit a leadoff home run and the Washington Nationals beat the Tampa Bay Rays 8-1 on Saturday, stopping a four-game skid.

Irvin (6-6) allowed just one hit (Brandon Lowe’s first-inning home run), struck out five and walked three. The right-hander has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 12 of his last 15 starts.

“Talk about it a lot, but just trying to keep us in games and consistency is part of it,” Irvin said. “If I can keep us in this race every five days, putting us in contention for wins, that’s my job and I’m happy with the results.”

Irvin has pitched six innings in six of his last seven starts.

“He was tough,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “We couldn’t get anything from him.”

Derek Law, Hunter Harvey and Kyle Finnegan each had three outs for the Nationals, completing a two-hitter.

Abrams hit his third home run of the season. He also hit a double off Shawn Armstrong in Washington’s six-run seventh inning.

Harold Ramirez, released by Tampa Bay on June 13 and signed with Washington two days later, hit a two-run triple in the seventh inning of his first game against his former team. It was his first triple since Aug. 14 and his seventh overall in 515 career games.

The Rays fell back below .500 at 41-42. Tampa Bay hasn’t been above .500 since May 21.

Yandy Diaz went 0 for 4, snapping his Tampa Bay-record 20-game hitting streak. He hit a 109-mph straight line drive to first base in the eighth inning.

The Nationals took a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning thanks to a nice base run by Luis García Jr. He rushed home on a wild pitch from Aaron Civale (2-6) that ended in front of the plate .

“Awesome,” Washington manager Dave Martinez said. “He actually took a good secondary lead and got away right away. It was a big play for us.”

Just after hitting what should have been a catchable foul ball that got stuck on an overhanging catwalk, Lowe tied it at 1 with his sixth homer. He had been limited to one hit at bat since breaking his right pinky finger on June 22.

Civale extended his winless streak to 14. The right-hander allowed four walks while allowing two runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings.

“I felt like he had to fight for that release,” Cash said. “He probably didn’t have his best asset. »

TRAINERS ROOM

Nationals: OF Jesse Winker, who left Friday’s game in the first inning after injuring his knee while tripping and falling hard to the ground to make a catch, led off and hit an RBI single in the seventh.

FOLLOWING

Nationals left-handed pitcher Patrick Corbin (1-7, 5.46 ERA) and Rays right-handed pitcher Taj Bradley (2-4, 3.81 ERA) are Sunday’s starters.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB