Mead hits 1st homer of the season and Rays beat Tigers 7-5 to avoid the 3-game sweep

St. Petersburg - ST. PETERSBURG, Fla, (AP) — Curtis Mead hit his first home run of the season and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Detroit Tigers 7-5 on Wednesay night to avoid a three-game sweep.

Ben Rortvedt collected his second RBI of the game with a single and scored on Mead’s two-run drive off Will Vest (1-1) that put the Rays ahead 7-5 in the sixth inning. It was Mead’s first homer since Sept. 22.

Tampa Bay had lost three in row and five of seven.

ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - APRIL 24: Garrett Cleavinger #60 celebrates with Ben Rortvedt #30 of the Tampa Bay Rays after defeating the Detroit Tigers 7-5 at Tropicana Field on April 24, 2024 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Imag

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The Tigers completed a six-game trip at 4-2 and are 10-4 on the road this season.

After trailing by three early, Detroit took a 5-4 lead in the sixth on Buddy Kennedy’s run-scoring single and Javier Báez’s 600th career RBI that came on a double against Chris Devenski (1-1).

Jason Adam went two perfect innings before Garrett Cleavinger worked the ninth to get his second save in as many chances.

Mark Canha picked up his fourth and fifth RBIs in the series with a fifth-inning single off former Tigers’ left-hander Tyler Alexander that got the Tigers within 4-3.

Alexander allowed two runs and three hits in four innngs. He went 11-23 in 120 games, including 43 starts, with the Tigers from 2019-23.

Canha’s two-out hit came after right fielder Amed Rosario grabbed Riley Greene’s drive to the warning track and held onto the ball after colliding with center fielder Randy Arozarena.

Rortvedt had an RBI double in a three-run third off Jack Flaherty as the Rays took a 4-1 lead. Flaherty gave up four runs and seven hits over five innings.

Arozarena, mired in a 9 for 77 (.117) slide in April entering the game, pulled Tampa Bay even at 1 with his first homer since March 31 in the first inning. The 2023 All-Star has three homers this season and is hitting .158 after going 1 for 4 with three strikeouts.