The Tampa Bay Rays hit five home runs off Cleveland Indians pitching, and they needed all of them, as they would hold on for a 6-4 win Tuesday at Progressive Field.
Four of the five homers were of the solo variety, starting with Colby Rasmus' fourth home run of the year, coming off Salazar in the second inning. Derek Norris and Corey Dickerson went back-to-back with solo shots in the third, Norris' third homer of the year and Dickerson's seventh on the season. The Rays DH added his 8th on the season in the fifth for a 4-1 lead.
Jake Odorizzi worked a scoreless first and second innings, but gave up a run in the third on a double by Jason Kipnis which scored Yan Gomes, who had doubled earlier in the freame.
Tim Beckham's seventh home run of the year, a two-run shot off reliever Shawn Armstrong, made it a 6-1 game, and proved to be the difference, as Odorizzi (3-2) allowed three runs in the bottom of the inning on an RBI groundout by Carlos Santana, followed by a two-run homer to Edwin Encarnacion that cut the lead to 6-4, though he struck out Lonnie Chisenhall to stem the tide of momentum and escape with the inning.
Jose Alvarado worked two perfect innings of relief, and Alex Colome allowed a base hit, but struck out a pair for his tenth save.
The win gets Tampa Bay back to two games under .500 at 20-22.
The Rays can win their second straight road series and finish the road trip 4-2 with a win in Wednesday's finale, as Alex Cobb (3-3, 3.65 ERA) takes on Josh Tomlin (2-4, 5.87 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 12:10, with coverage on WDAE beginning at 11:30.