Odorizzi, Rays blank Astros to get back to .500

They didn’t score until late. Colby Rasmus is 1-for-12 versus Moore, who held the Astros to two hits and struck out nine over seven scoreless innings in their only meeting in 2013.WALK-OFFS1.

Rene Rivera was supposed to be an offensive improvement for the Tampa Bay Rays at catcher after a breakout season with the San Diego Padres that saw him hit to a.252/.319/.432 line with 11 home runs. But on a night when the Rays ended 18 games of torture – a 3-15 record – it was enough.

Kevin Jepsen had an easy 1-2-3 inning in the eighth, then Brad Boxberger sealed the win in the ninth and picking up his 22nd save of the season.

Houston has scored just four runs during a five-game losing streak.

“We’ve got to find a way to get out of this”, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “We had a couple of opportunities, but right now, it feels like we have to be flawless to scratch across some runs”.

Keuchel has won his last three starts, allowing a total of three runs over 23 innings while striking out 27 and walking only two in that span. The 27-year-old Oklahoma native has yielded two or fewer runs in 12 of his 18 starts and he’s gone at least seven innings 11 times. David DeJesus and Evan Longoria had run-scoring grounders to give the Rays a 2-1 lead. The Astros reinstated RHP Chad Qualls from the 15-day disabled list before Friday’s game, optioning LHP Brett Oberholtzer to Triple-A Fresno. Hinch.

Rays: RF Steven Souza Jr.

Dallas Keuchel, who was bidding to become the AL’s first 12-game victor, thought he had Jake Elmore struck out with two men on base to end the second inning. The surprising Astros took over first place in the AL West on April 19, but they had their lead dwindle to a half-game over the Los Angeles Angels entering Saturday. He returned to the mound for the first time since June 5, when he left with tightness in his left oblique, but didn’t look as if he had been gone at all. The Rays optioned RHP Andrew Bellatti to open a roster spot for Odorizzi.