CLEVELAND (Interstat) — Gavin Williams pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings and Chase DeLauter drove in two runs as the Cleveland Guardians defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 on Wednesday afternoon at Progressive Field.

The Guardians snapped a two-game losing streak against the Rays and improved to 16-16. Tampa Bay fell to 18-12 after winning the first two games of the series, 1-0 on Tuesday and 3-2 on Monday.

The game was scoreless until the bottom of the third inning. Brayan Rocchio singled off Drew Rasmussen and moved to third on a groundout by Steven Kwan. After DeLauter walked, Jose Ramirez reached on a fielder’s choice and Kyle Manzardo lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Rocchio for a 1-0 lead.

Cleveland added two runs in the fifth inning in the pivotal sequence of the game. Rocchio reached on a fielding error by first baseman Jonathan Aranda. Kwan doubled to right field, putting runners at second and third. DeLauter then singled to center, scoring both runners and pushing the lead to 3-0.

Rasmussen avoided further damage by striking out Ramirez and Manzardo and getting Daniel Schneemann to single but leaving the bases loaded. Rasmussen exited after five innings, charged with two earned runs on six hits with six strikeouts.

Tampa Bay scratched a run in the seventh against Williams. Yandy Diaz led off with a single. Jake Fraley reached on a fielder’s choice, and Diaz scored when second baseman Travis Bazzana threw the ball away on the play, allowing Fraley to advance to second. Williams retired Cedric Mullins and Richie Palacios to end the inning.

Williams, who had allowed six earned runs in his previous start at Toronto on April 24, rebounded with a dominant performance. He struck out nine, walked none and allowed five hits, all singles, with one hit batter. He did not permit an earned run. The right-hander improved to 5-1.

Cade Smith earned his seventh save by pitching a perfect ninth inning except for a two-out single by Diaz. Smith struck out two, including Fraley and Palacios to end the game.

Rocchio led the Guardians with three hits. DeLauter finished 2 for 3 with two RBIs. Kwan doubled and scored a run. For the Rays, Diaz and Chandler Simpson each had two hits. Junior Caminero also singled.

The game featured several defensive highlights. Williams picked off Fraley at first base in the fourth inning. In the sixth, Guardians third baseman Daniel Schneemann made a foul popout to retire Caminero. Rasmussen deflected a groundball in the third that shortstop Taylor Walls fielded, but Rocchio beat the throw for an infield single.

Tampa Bay’s best scoring opportunity beyond the seventh came in the eighth inning. Simpson singled and Caminero singled against Williams, bringing the tying run to the plate. Williams was replaced by left-hander Erik Sabrowski, who struck out Aranda swinging to end the inning. Sabrowski earned a hold.

Cleveland’s bullpen also included Smith’s clean ninth. The game lasted 2 hours, 22 minutes. Attendance was 14,196.

The Guardians avoided a sweep after losing the first two games of the series at home. Cleveland had lost four of its previous six games before Wednesday. Tampa Bay had won five of its previous six games, including the first two against Cleveland.

The Rays continue a road trip that began with a split of a four-game series at Minnesota before winning two in Cleveland. Tampa Bay returns home Friday to face the San Francisco Giants for a three-game series. The Guardians begin a 10-game road trip Friday at the Athletics, followed by four games at Kansas City.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a 6-3 victory for Tampa Bay. Interstat’s ELO system gave Cleveland a 54.60 percent probability to win. Tampa Bay was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of 4 went over the over/under line of 6.5.