ST. PETERSBURG (WDAE) -- Charlie Morton threw seven innings of four-hit baseball to end his three-start winless streak, and Brandon Lowe homered and drove in a pair to lead the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles Tuesday at Tropicana Field.
For the second consecutive night, Tampa Bay jumped out to a first-inning lead, as Lowe blasted a solo homer to right, his team-leading 16th of the year for a 1-0 advantage.
Morton, who cruised through the first two innings easily, ran into a bit of trouble in the third, as he gave up a solo home run of his own to Chris Davis, the first baseman's sixth homer of the year and first since May 12.
But Lowe gave the Rays the leads for good in the bottom of the inning, driving in Joey Wendle, who led off with a walk and stole second base to get into scoring position.
The Rays second baseman had to come out of Tuesday's contest in the sixth inning after fouling consecutive pitches off his right leg, then singling against the shift but having to hobble to first base. Tommy Pham walked to move pinch-runner Yandy Diaz into scoring position, and each came around to score on a base hit by Avisail Garcia.
Pham added two more in the seventh with a double that scored Zunino and Diaz.
Morton (9-2) left after seven innings having allowed the one run on four hits with a season-high 12 strikeouts.
Adam Kolarek struck out the side in the eighth, but Baltimore tagged Chaz Roe for a pair of runs on a two-run homer by Chance Sisco before the right-hander finished out the contest.
The win is Tampa Bay's fourth straight, and they gain a game on the New York Yankees, who lost 4-2 to the cross-town Mets at Citi Field.
WEDNESDAY'S MATCHUP
Tampa Bay Rays (50-36) vs. Baltimore Orioles (24-61), 7:10 pm first pitch, with coverage on WDAE beginning at 6:00 with The Inside Pitch.
Rays starter: Ryne Stanek (0-1, 2.64 ERA)
Orioles starter: RHP John Means (7-4, 2.50 ERA)