Major League Baseball
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Tampa Bay 5, Houston 2
When: 1:40 PM ET, Sunday, June 22, 2014
Where: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Temperature: Indoors
Umpires: Home - Brian Knight, 1B - Seth Buckminster, 2B - Fieldin Culbreth, 3B - Manny Gonzalez
Attendance: 13841


Rays 5, Astros 2: Evan Longoria recorded three hits and knocked in a run as Tampa Bay rallied to defeat visiting Houston and take three of four in the series.

Yunel Escobar and Sean Rodriguez each collected two RBIs while Brandon Guyer added a pair of hits and scored twice as the Rays won for the seventh time in 11 games. Juan Carlos Oviedo (3-2) retired two batters in the sixth for the win before Grant Balfour and Jake McGee bridged the gap to Joel Peralta, who notched his first save with a perfect ninth.

Dexter Fowler registered a solo homer and a single for the Astros, who have dropped six of their last seven contests. Houston starter Dallas Keuchel (8-5) logged his third complete game, allowing five runs (four earned) on nine hits and a season high-matching four walks while striking out four.

Fowler lifted the first pitch of the game into the left-field seats, but Tampa Bay tied it in the bottom of the inning on Longoria’s RBI single. Jonathan Villar doubled to lead off the third, stole third after video review overturned an out call and jogged home on Jose Altuve’s single to give Houston a 2-1 advantage.

The Rays loaded the bases with a walk, a bunt single by Guyer and Longoria’s single to right in the sixth before Jerry Sands struck out. Escobar followed by slapping a two-run single to right and George Springer’s bobble allowed Longoria to reach third, leading to Rodriguez’s fielder’s choice RBI.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Tampa Bay starter Erik Bedard gave up two runs and seven hits over 5 1/3 innings, matching a season high with eight strikeouts. … Tampa Bay CF Desmond Jennings attempted to steal home after Astros C Carlos Corporan threw the ball back to Keuchel with two outs in the third, but he was called out and video review confirmed the umpire’s decision. … The Rays continue their homestand on Monday with the first of three against Pittsburgh while Houston begins a stretch of nine straight at home Tuesday versus Atlanta.

Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Houston   Tampa Bay
Dallas Keuchel Player Erik Bedard
Loss W/L No Decision
8.0 IP 5.1
4 Strikeouts 8
9 Hits 7
4.50 ERA 3.38
Hitting
Houston   Tampa Bay
Dexter Fowler Player Evan Longoria
2 Hits 3
1 RBI 1
1 HR 0
5 TB 3
.400 Avg .750
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Houston 7 1 11 .212 14 13 2 3 1 1
Tampa Bay 9 0 10 .333 11 4 5 4 0 0