Field Level Media
May 9, 2018
Atlanta right-hander Julio Teheran pitched seven scoreless innings Wednesday, and the Braves beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-2 to sweep a two-game series in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Teheran (3-1) allowed only four hits and did not walk a batter for the first time in eight starts. He struck out seven in his first career appearance against Tampa Bay. Teheran has not allowed a run in his past two starts, a stretch of 13 innings.
Closer Arodys Vizciano pitched around a single to work a scoreless ninth inning. He struck out one and earned his sixth save in seven tries. The right-hander has converted 18 of his last 20 save opportunities.
The Braves scored a run in the second inning on Ender Inciarte's RBI single, then put the game away with four runs in the third thanks to a sacrifice fly from Freddie Freeman and a three-run homer by Nick Markakis, his seventh.
Markakis had been 0-for-8 since his 12-game hitting streak ended on Sunday. He bounced back to go 2-for-4 with two runs.
Tampa Bay starter Ryan Yarbrough (2-2) allowed five runs in five innings, despite seven strikeouts, in his first career appearance against Atlanta. It was his worst effort since allowing five runs in a loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on April 15. He had allowed two or fewer runs in each of his past four starts.
Rays catcher Wilson Ramos extended his hitting streak to 16, the longest active streak in the majors, with a two-run single in the eighth inning. It is the second consecutive game in which he kept the streak alive in his final at-bat and the third time during the stretch. He is batting .403 (25-for-62) during the hitting streak.
The Ramos single ended Atlanta's streak of scoreless road innings end at 34, a modern franchise record. That eclipsed a 30-inning stretch in July 1992.
Atlanta, winners of two straight, continue its road trip with four games in Miami starting Thursday. Tampa Bay, which has lost five of seven, begins a four-game series at Baltimore on Thursday.
--Field Level Media