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Moore, Rays shut out Rangers to avoid sweep

Apr 11, 2013 - 2:34 AM Arlington, TX (Sports Network) - Matt Moore pitched 5 1/3 innings of one-hit shutout baseball as the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Texas Rangers, 2-0, on Wednesday afternoon.

Moore (2-0) walked six batters but registered five strikeouts in his outing. Fernando Rodney pitched the ninth to earn his first save of the season.

Evan Longoria and Ben Zobrist had an RBI apiece for the Rays, who avoided a three-game sweep against Texas.

"It was the kind of game you got to win," said Rays manager Joe Maddon. "Having lost two in a row here, some tough moments here also, it just shows the resiliency of our group and the fact that these guys do not give in."

The Rangers recorded just five hits. David Murphy went 2-for-4 with a double but Texas went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base.

Derek Holland (0-1) got the start for the Rangers and despite the lack of run support, had a good performance, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks over eight innings.

"He was outstanding," said Rangers manager Ron Washington. "I mean he gave up two runs, five hits, take that every day. He did his job. Tampa's team did a better job, they kept us off the board."

With the bases loaded in the third, Zobrist grounded into a fielder's choice to third, but was able to bring Kelly Johnson home.

Longoria's RBI came in the fifth. After a double by Desmond Jennings and a grounder by Sean Rodriguez, Longoria hit a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Jennings.

Rodney came into pitch in the ninth for the Rays. After allowing a single to Mitch Moreland, A.J. Pierzynski flied out, Craig Gentry struck out and Ian Kinsler's blooper towards third forced Moreland out at second to end the game.

Game Notes

Zobrist was 2-for-4 ... Elvis Andrus and Jeff Baker each walked twice ... Moore threw 106 pitches, while Holland threw 110 pitches ... The Rangers have not swept the Rays since July 3-5, 2009, in Texas.