ctinsider
DENVER — The Tampa Bay Rays secured a dominant 4-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday afternoon, finishing off a three-game sweep at Coors Field. The win marked the 11th series sweep of the season for the Rays, who own the best record in the American League.
Junior Caminero launched his third home run of the series, while Victor Mesa Jr. recorded two triples, providing the offensive spark. Starting pitcher Nick Martinez worked into the sixth inning, allowing just six hits and no walks, and did not surrender a run. It was his fourth scoreless outing of the year and second in his last three starts.
Martinez, who improved to 11-3 on the season, matched his career high in wins set last year with Cincinnati. He rebounded from a tough outing against the Chicago White Sox on Friday. Despite entering the game with a 7.11 ERA at Coors Field, he escaped a fourth-inning jam by inducing a double play from Jordan Beck.
In the sixth, after Jake McCarthy and Kyle Karros singled to put runners on the corners with two outs, Martinez was lifted for Tyler Wells, making his Rays debut after being acquired from Baltimore. Wells struck out TJ Rumfield to end the threat, and later recorded four outs, all via strikeout. Garrett Cleavinger and Cam Booser each pitched a scoreless inning to close out the shutout.
Key Analysis
The Rays jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first inning against Rockies starter Tomoyuki Sugano. Mesa's first triple set up Jonathan Aranda's RBI single, and Aranda later scored on Chandler Simpson's bloop hit. Caminero led off the third with his 33rd home run, extending the lead. Sugano (11-5) retired nine straight batters after that but left after walking Liam Hicks to open the sixth.
Looking ahead, the Rays will open a three-game series in Seattle on Friday night, with right-hander Drew Rasmussen (10-5, 2.91 ERA) taking the mound. The Rockies, meanwhile, begin a nine-game road trip at St. Louis on Friday, with right-hander Ryan Feltner (4-5, 5.75 ERA) starting.
Originally reported by ctinsider.