ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The San Francisco Giants waited until the eighth inning for their first lead Sunday, pulling away from the Tampa Bay Rays and winning 5-1 at Tropicana Field for their eighth straight victory.
Tied in the eighth inning, the Giants (44-26) got RBI singles from Joe Panik and Buster Posey and a two-run double from Conor Gillaspie, finishing a three-game sweep of the Rays (31-36), who have dropped four straight and saw their bullpen struggle badly again.
A day after winning Saturday’s game with a three-run homer in the ninth, Panik broke another late-inning tie, getting an RBI single in the eighth to score Gregor Blanco, who had led off the inning with a single out of the No. 9 spot in the lineup. Reliever Xavier Cedeno (3-2) got only one out, giving up two singles and a walk as the Rays’ bullpen continues to struggle in high-leverage situations.
Taylor Sturdevant came in and gave up another RBI single to Posey for a 3-1 lead, then a two-run double to Gillaspie. The Rays got singles from Corey Dickerson and Desmond Jennings to lead off the ninth, but reliever Cory Gearrin got the last two outs with strikeouts to close out the win.
For six innings, the game was a pitchers’ duel between Giants starter Jake Peavy and Rays starter Jake Odorizzi, each holding the opponent to a single run on four hits. For the second game in a row, the game would come to which bullpen could hold up.
The Rays scored early, getting a run in the bottom of the first when Logan Forsythe and Brad Miller singled, and Forsythe scored on an error by Peavy on a pickoff attempt to first. That said, the Rays had Miller at third with one out, got an extra out when the Giants dropped a foul pop and still couldn’t bring him in, with Corey Dickerson striking out with two on to end the inning. The Rays also had first and third with two outs in the second, but Miller grounded out to end the inning.
The Giants’ lone run early came on a solo home run by first baseman Brandon Belt — his 10th of the season — off Odorizzi in the fourth inning to tie the game.
Gillaspie entered the game late for starting third baseman Matt Duffy, who went 2-for-3 on the day. There was no initial word on a reason for the switch.
NOTES: The Rays lost Saturday despite hitting four home runs — since the start of last season, teams hitting four or more home runs have won 89.8 percent of the time. … The Rays made history, according to Elias, as the first MLB team ever to have four infielders hit home runs from the first four spots in the batting order. It was also the first time in Rays history that four infielders homered in the same game. … The Giants continue their road swing with a four-game series at the Pirates starting on Monday, while the Rays hit the road for a three-game series at Cleveland. … Since May 11, Giants starting pitchers were 17-4 with a 2.21 ERA entering Sunday’s game — for the year, Giants starters have a 3.38 ERA, fourth-best in the National League behind the Cubs, Mets and Nationals.