ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Zach Eflin pitched seven strong innings to become the AL's third 11-game winner, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-0 on Friday night in a matchup of the top teams in the American League.
Baltimore, which won 4-3 in 10 innings on Thursday night in the opener of the four-game set, leads the AL East with a .608 winning percentage compared to Tampa Bay's .604. The Orioles trailed the Rays by 6 1/2 games at the beginning of July.
Eflin (11-5) allowed 2 hits, struck out 8 and walked 1, improving to 10-1 in 11 starts at home. The right-hander joined teammate Shane McClanahan and Texas' Nathan Eovaldi with 11 victories.
"It was nice to get back on track," Eflin said. "It feels really, really good. We had a good time postgame in the clubhouse. We'll take that momentum into tomorrow."
Eflin threw 63 of his 87 pitches for strikes. After Colin Poche struck out the side in the eighth, Pete Fairbanks finished the two-hitter for his 11th save in 12 chances.
"We just didn't get anything going," Orioles Manager Brandon Hyde said. "It just wasn't our night offensively."
Isaac Paredes and Jose Siri homered for the Rays, who stopped a five-game skid and improved to 4-12 in July.
Paredes made it 2-0 on his home run off Kyle Bradish (6-5) in the sixth.
"It was a great feeling to hit a home run against the team that obviously we're fighting for the division," Paredes said through a translator.
Bradish, coming off consecutive wins in which didn't allow a run over 13 1/3 innings, gave up 2 runs and 6 hits in 6 innings.
Baltimore lost for just the third time in 13 games, and had a season-high six-game road win streak end.
TWINS 9, WHITE SOX 4 Byron Buxton halted an 0-for-26 skid by homering in his first two at-bats, and Alex Kirilloff and Ryan Jeffers also took Lance Lynn deep for Minnesota in a victory over Chicago.
YANKEES 5, ROYALS 4 Billy McKinney hit a three-run home run and made two key catches in center field as New York defeated Kansas City.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
BRAVES 6, BREWERS 4 Austin Riley homered for the fifth time in his last four games, Orlando Arcia also went deep and Atlanta held off Milwaukee.
CUBS 4, CARDINALS 3 Cody Bellinger hit a two-run home run, and Chicago stopped a six-game win streak by St. Louis.
NATIONALS 5, GIANTS 3 CJ Abrams and Lane Thomas homered for Washington, and rookie Jake Irvin struck out a career-high nine in 6 2/3 innings in a win over San Francisco.
REDS 9, DIAMONDBACKS 6 Rookie Matt McLain hit his first career grand slam and Cincinnati extended its winning streak to three games with a win over Arizona.
ROCKIES 6, MARLINS 1 C.J. Cron, Jurickson Profar and Elias Diaz homered for Colorado, and Peter Lambert pitched five shutout innings in a win over Miami.
INTERLEAGUE
DODGERS 11, RANGERS 5 Freddie Freeman hit a home run, drove in three runs and scored three runs as Los Angeles defeated Texas.
GUARDIANS 6, PHILLIES 5 Bryce Harper flashed some glove with a stunning catch in his first career start at first base, but Cleveland ended Philadelphia's interleague winning streak at 12 games. Jose Ramirez had four hits and David Fry drove in two runs for the Guardians.
PADRES 5, TIGERS 4 Juan Soto hit two long home runs, powering San Diego to a win over Detroit. Soto connected for a 447-foot drive in the first inning. He added a two-run shot in the third that traveled an estimated 463 feet. He has 19 home runs on the season.
Friday’s games
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Chicago Cubs 4, St. Louis 3
Colorado 6, Miami 1
Washington 5, San Francisco 3
Cincinnati 9, Arizona 6
Atlanta 6, Milwaukee 4
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Tampa Bay 3, Baltimore 0
NY Yankees 5, Kansas City 4
Minnesota 9, Chicago White Sox 4
Houston at Oakland, (n)
Toronto at Seattle, (n)
INTERLEAGUE
San Diego 5, Detroit 4
Cleveland 6, Philadelphia 5
LA Dodgers 11, Texas 5
NY Mets at Boston, susp., rain
Game to be completed today
Pittsburgh at LA Angels, (n)