CLEVELAND (Interstat) — Nick Martinez pitched seven innings of three-hit ball, Jonathan Aranda drove in the only run and the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Cleveland Guardians 1-0 on Tuesday night at Progressive Field, extending their winning streak to six games.

Martinez, who improved to 2-1, struck out four and walked none while lowering his ERA to 1.74. He retired the final eight batters he faced and allowed only one runner to reach second base during his outing. Cole Sulser worked a tense ninth inning for his first save of the season, stranding the potential tying run on second base.

The Rays improved to 18-11 and have won 13 of their 14 games against American League opponents this season, matching the best such start in major league history. Tampa Bay is 13-1 versus the AL, tying the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers, 1984 Detroit Tigers, 1981 Athletics and the 1966 Cleveland Indians for the most wins in a team’s first 14 games against league competition.

Cleveland fell to 15-16 and lost for the fifth time in six games. The Guardians managed just four hits and went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position. The game marked the major league debut of Cleveland second baseman Travis Bazzana, the top overall pick in the 2024 amateur draft, who went 0 for 2 with two walks.

The lone run came in the fifth inning. With one out, Taylor Walls drew a walk off Guardians starter Tanner Bibee. Ben Williamson followed with a single to right field, moving Walls to third. Aranda then lined a sharp single to right, scoring Walls and giving the Rays a 1-0 lead.

That was all the support Martinez needed. He worked efficiently, throwing 67 pitches — 11 strikes, 56 balls — but the ball-strike split reflected the game’s overall pace: 11 balls in play against him. The Guardians put only three balls in the air to the outfield during his seven innings.

Bibee, who dropped to 0-4, allowed four hits and one earned run over five innings. He struck out six and walked three. The right-hander labored through a 31-pitch first inning that saw Chandler Simpson lead off the game with a double, advance to third on a groundout, and then get thrown out at home on a fielder’s choice. Bibee escaped the inning with no damage but needed 30 pitches and 10 strikes overall.

The Guardians threatened in the eighth inning. After a walk to Bazzana and a walk to pinch-hitter Rhys Hoskins, Brayan Rocchio sacrificed both runners into scoring position. Rays manager then turned to left-hander Ian Seymour, who intentionally walked Steven Kwan to load the bases with one out. Seymour struck out Chase DeLauter and got Jose Ramirez to fly out to center, ending the inning.

Sulser entered for the ninth and quickly gave up a double to Angel Martinez. After an intentional walk to Bazzana, Sulser struck out George Valera on three pitches to end the game.

Cleveland made two sacrifice hits in the game, one from Angel Martinez in the fifth and one from Rocchio in the eighth, but could not push a run across. The Guardians also drew four walks, including two to Bazzana and one each to Kwan and Hoskins.

Tampa Bay finished with five hits. Simpson went 1 for 4 with a double and a walk. Williamson singled and scored, while Aranda drove in the run. Yandy Diaz singled in the fourth but was erased on a force play. Jake Fraley doubled in the eighth but was left stranded.

The Rays bullpen combined for two scoreless innings. Seymour retired the only batter he faced on a strikeout after the intentional walk. Kevin Kelly got one out in the eighth, and Sulser worked the ninth.

For Cleveland, Kwan doubled in the sixth and DeLauter singled in the first. Daniel Schneemann singled in the fifth. The rest of the order combined for one hit, a double by Martinez in the ninth.

The game lasted 2 hours, 29 minutes before an announced crowd of 16,213.

Tampa Bay has won six straight since a 6-1 loss to Cincinnati on April 20. The Rays took the first game of this two-game series 3-2 on Monday. They will look to sweep the set Wednesday afternoon before returning home for a 10-game homestand against San Francisco, Toronto and Boston.

Cleveland will try to avoid the sweep Wednesday before a 10-game road trip to Oakland, Kansas City and Minnesota.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Tampa Bay 6, Cleveland 5. Interstat’s ELO system gave Cleveland a 55.20 percent probability to win. Cleveland was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total of one run went over the over-under line of 8.