Game: Florida Marlins @ Tampa Bay Rays
Venue: Tropicana Field
Start Time: 6:10 P.M. Eastern Time
Attendance: 31,195
Length of Game: 2:58
Starting Pitchers: Mark Hendrickson ( Marlins) vs Matt Garza ( Rays)
There's nothing like a strong pitching performance to squash a disagreement between batterymates.
Tampa Bay's Matt Garza and Dioner Navarro put their differences of a week ago behind them on Saturday night, working together to help the Rays beat the suddenly punchless Florida Marlins 4-1.
Jonny Gomes homered in his first at-bat since serving a five-game suspension for his part in a bench-clearing brawl in Boston, and Jason Bartlett's two-run single off Mark Hendrickson (7-5) snapped a 1-all tie in the fourth inning.
Reliever Dan Wheeler worked a scoreless eighth, and Troy Percival added a perfect ninth to finish the three-hitter for his 15th save in 17 opportunities.
Garza, who had lost two straight, got into it with Navarro on the mound during a loss to the Rangers on June 6. They clashed again in the dugout after the young right-hander gave up a home run.
The Rays starter was in control from the beginning against the Marlins, who have lost three straight and are hitting .162 over their past six games.
Garza limited them to Jeremy Hermida's fourth-inning double and singles by Matt Treanor and Luis Gonzalez. Mike Jacobs drove in Florida's lone run with a fourth-inning sacrifice fly.
Manager Joe Maddon urged Garza to do a better job of controlling his emotions in tight game situations and was confident his pitcher and catcher would be fine.
Tampa Bay has won 22 of its last 25 at home, including eight consecutive series. The crowd of 31,195 was up from 19,312 for the opener of the annual Citrus Series, thanks in part to a post-game concert featuring Grammy-winning artist Gilberto Santa Rosa.
Gomes homered on the first pitch he'd faced since June 5, when he was ejected during a fight between Tampa Bay and Boston that led to the suspensions of eight players, including five Rays. The slugger rejoined the team Friday, but did not play.
The second-inning homer, Gomes' first since May 21, was the sixth allowed by Hendrickson over his past four starts. Even though the left-hander leads Florida with seven victories, he's dropped three straight decisions since his last win three weeks ago.
The Marlins starter failed to get past the fourth inning in two of his previous three starts, allowing 19 runs in 12 innings. He barely lasted until the fifth Saturday night.
The Rays loaded the bases on B.J. Upton's single and two walks before Bartlett, who had been 0-for-5 with the bases filled this season, singled up the middle to drive in two runs for a 3-1 lead.
Hendrickson avoided further damage by getting Akinori Iwamura to ground out to end the inning. He threw 103 pitches in five innings, allowing three runs and four hits.
