Randy Wolf Pitches Marlins Past Rays 3-1
MIAMI (AP) — Randy Wolf pitched six innings Monday night for his first victory since 2012, and the Miami Marlins beat Tampa Bay 3-1, sending the Rays to their seventh consecutive loss.
The 37-year-old Wolf, making a comeback from the second Tommy John surgery of his career, allowed three hits and one run. He struck out seven, walked one and won for the first time since he pitched Baltimore past Tampa Bay on Sept. 13, 2012.
The Rays fell to 0-7 on their eight-game trip. They're 12 games below .500 for the first time since 2007, and their record (23-35) is the worst in the American League.
Four Miami relievers completed the six-hitter, and Steve Cishek pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th save in 13 chances. The Marlins snapped a streak of four consecutive home losses as they started a four-game home-and-home series against their intrastate rivals.
The Rays went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position. They've scored six runs in their past five games.
Alex Cobb (1-3) paid dearly for a rocky start. The Marlins scored three times in the first, when their first four batters reached. Casey McGehee hit a two-run single, and a bases-loaded double play scored another run.
Cobb then settled down and shut out Miami over the next five innings, but the Rays couldn't rally. Tampa Bay starters remained winless in the past 15 games, the team's longest such streak since 2006.
Wolf (1-1) didn't pitch in 2013 and was making his second start of this year. His fastball registered only in the upper 80s (mph), but he had command of his breaking pitches and struck out five of the first eight batters he faced.
The Rays finally broke through in the fifth on an RBI double by Desmond Jennings, but Wolf retired the next three hitters.
Wolf was signed as a free agent last month after ace Jose Fernandez was sidelined by a season-ending elbow injury. The left-hander improved his career record to 133-118.
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