Jake Irvin pitches 6 strong innings as Nationals beat Rays 8-1 to stop 4-game slide

By MARK DIDTLER

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Jake Irvin pitched six powerful innings, C.J. Abrams hit a leadoff home run and the Washington Nationals beat the Tampa Bay Rays 8-1 on Saturday, snapping a four-game losing streak.

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

“There’s a lot of talk about it, but trying to stay in the game and be consistent is part of it,” Irvin said. “If I can keep us in the game every five days, put us in a position to win, 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 out of him.”

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

Abrams connected for his third leadoff homer this season. He also had an RBI double off Shawn Armstrong in Washington’s six-run seventh.

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, ending his Tampa Bay-record 20-game hitting streak. He hit a 109-mph liner to first in the eighth.

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 .

“Great,” Washington manager Dave Martinez said. “He actually took a good secondary lead and broke away immediately. It was a big game 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 issued 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 wasn’t at his best. »

TRAINERS ROOM

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

FOLLOWING

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

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