ST. PETERSBURG, Florida — Zach Eflin pitched six scoreless innings, José Siri hit two home runs and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Washington Nationals 3-1 on Friday.
Cuban Yandy Díaz singled in the third inning to extend his hitting streak to 20 games, a Rays record. He surpassed the mark set by Jason Bartlett in 2009.
Tampa Bay is the only team that does not have a player with a 20-game hitting streak.
With the win, the Rays improved to 41-41. They have not been above .500 since May 21.
Washington fell to 2-5 on a nine-game road trip.
Eflin (4-5) allowed four hits and struck out six while snapping a five-game winless streak. Pete Fairbanks, the Rays’ third reliever, pitched the ninth inning for his 13th save in 15 chances.
The loss went to Mitchell Parker (5-4).
For the Nationals, the Venezuelans Ildemaro Vargas 3-1, Keibert Ruiz 3-0. Mexican Joey Meneses 3-0. Puerto Rican Eddie Rosario 4-1.
For the Rays, Cuban Yandy Díaz went 1-for-4. Mexicans Randy Arozarena went 1-for-4 with one run scored, Isaac Paredes went 1-for-4 with one RBI. Dominicans Amed Rosario went 1-for-3, Siri went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Panamanian José Caballero went 1-for-4.
