ST. PETERSBURG (620 WDAE) -- The Tampa Bay Rays saw a pair of long slumps disappear Thursday, as Corey Dickerson erased an 0-for-21 stretch with a three-run homer, his 22nd of the year, that broke a 1-1 tie and gave Tampa Bay a 4-1 win over the Cleveland Indians at Tropicana Field.
Tampa Bay also saw a skid where hitters went 0 for 31 with runners in scoring position come to an end in the fifth, as following a walk to Lucas Duda and a single by Evan Longoria, Logan Morrison laced a single to bring in Duda for the first hit with a runner at second base or beyond in a full week, since Steven Souza Jr.'s two-run double in Houston in the seventh inning on August 3.
Rays starter Blake Snell got off to a rough start, allowing a double by Francisco Lindor to start the game. Lindor took third on a groundout by Jason Kipnis and scored on an infield hit by Jose Ramirez to give Cleveland a 1-0 advantage one out into the game.
But the left-hander settled down and allowed just two other hits while pitching into the seventh inning for the second time in his last four starts, though he could not get enough offense to leave him in line for the win.
After the Rays got the one run against Indians starter Danny Salazar, it would be reliever Nick Goody that would allow the tie-breaking runs, first by allowing Adeiny Hechaverria to reach on a one-out single. The Rays shortstop then stole second base and ended up on third as the throw from Yan Gomes went into centerfield. Mallex Smith then tried to execute the safety squeeze twice, but each time popped the bunt up, eventually striking out. Jesus Sucre was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners for Dickerson's heroics.
Tommy Hunter, who relieved Snell with a runner on third and one out in the seventh, escaping the jam without the runners scoring, also worked a perfect eighth to earn his second win of the year in relief. Alex Colome worked a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his league-leading 34th save.
The win gets Tampa Bay back to two games above .500 at 59-57.
Jake Faria (5-2, 2.81 ERA) will look to make it two wins in a row, as he takes on Carlos Carrasco. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10, with coverage on WDAE beginning at 6:00 with The Inside Pitch presented by SYkes Lakeland.