TAMPA, Fla. (Interstat) — Jesse Scholtens pitched five solid innings and the Tampa Bay Rays used a five-run burst over the second and fourth innings to defeat the Miami Marlins 7-2 on Friday night at George Steinbrenner Field.

The Rays improved to 29-14, extending their lead in the American League East, while the Marlins fell to 20-25. The game drew an announced crowd of 14,919 and was completed in 2 hours, 17 minutes.

Scholtens, who earned his fourth win against two losses, allowed one earned run on five hits and struck out four over five innings. He departed after a scoreless fifth, having given up a solo homer to Connor Norby in the second inning and a leadoff double to Xavier Edwards in the fifth that was stranded. The right-hander worked efficiently, throwing strikes and keeping Miami’s lineup off balance after the early long ball.

The Marlins struck first in the top of the second when Norby crushed a 1-0 pitch over the left-center-field wall for his fourth home run of the season, tying the game at 2-2 after the Rays had taken a 2-0 lead in the first. But that was the high point for Miami, which managed only one more run the rest of the night.

The decisive moment came in the bottom of the fourth inning, when the Rays broke the tie and seized control. With the score 4-2 Tampa Bay after a two-run second, Richie Palacios led off with a sharp single to center. Cedric Mullins followed with a bunt single to third, putting two on with no outs. Hunter Feduccia then grounded into a force out at third, but Mullins moved to second and Feduccia reached first. Taylor Walls stepped to the plate and laced a double down the right-field line, scoring Mullins and Feduccia to stretch the lead to 6-2. Walls was thrown out trying to advance to third on the throw, but the damage was done.

Chandler Simpson followed with a triple to right, but Junior Caminero struck out on a foul tip to end the inning. The two-run double by Walls proved the pivotal blow, giving the Rays a four-run cushion that Scholtens and the bullpen protected.

Miami starter Janson Junk took the loss, falling to 2-4. The right-hander allowed six runs – five earned – on eight hits over 4 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out two. Junk worked out of jams in the third and fifth innings but could not contain the Rays’ lineup in the middle frames.

Tampa Bay had opened the scoring in the first inning against Junk. After Chandler Simpson grounded out and Caminero popped out, Jonathan Aranda drew a two-out walk. Yandy Díaz followed by crushing a 3-2 pitch over the left-field fence for a two-run homer, his sixth of the season, giving the Rays an early lead.

The Marlins answered immediately in the second. Christopher Morel flied out and Kyle Stowers struck out before Norby homered to left-center. Jakob Marsee singled, but Esteury Ruiz grounded out to end the inning.

Tampa Bay reclaimed the lead in the bottom half. Palacios led off with a double, and Mullins followed with a bunt single that put runners at the corners. Feduccia lifted a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Palacios. Mullins moved to third on the play and scored on a fielder’s choice grounder by Walls that was mishandled initially but resulted in an out at first. Simpson then grounded into a double play to end the inning, but the Rays had a 4-2 advantage.

The Rays extended their lead in the fourth with the two-run double by Walls, and Cedric Mullins capped the scoring in the sixth with a solo homer to right, his third of the season, making it 7-2. Mullins finished 3-for-4 with a home run, a double and two runs scored.

Miami’s only other threat came in the third inning, when the Marlins put two on with one out. Xavier Edwards singled and Otto Lopez singled, but Christopher Morel grounded into a force out at second to end the inning.

The Marlins managed a run in the sixth when Jakob Marsee led off with a solo home run to right, his third of the season, cutting the deficit to 6-2. But that was the last time Miami threatened. Tampa Bay’s bullpen, led by Casey Legumina and Ian Seymour, shut out the Marlins over the final four innings. Legumina pitched two hitless innings, striking out one, and Seymour allowed two hits and one earned run over two innings while striking out two.

Jake Fraley, starting in right field for Tampa Bay, went 0-for-3 but was replaced by Jonny DeLuca in the eighth. Simpson, the Rays’ left fielder, went 2-for-4 with a triple and a single. Feduccia contributed a sacrifice fly and a ground-rule double. Díaz finished 1-for-3 with the homer and two RBIs.

For Miami, Norby went 1-for-4 with the home run, and Marsee was 2-for-4 with a homer and a single. Edwards had two hits, but the Marlins left five runners on base and struck out seven times.

The Marlins had entered the game after a 9-1 loss at Minnesota on Thursday, splitting a three-game series with the Twins. The Rays, meanwhile, had dropped a 5-3, 10-inning decision at Toronto on Wednesday after winning three of four from the Blue Jays.

The teams meet again Saturday in the second game of this three-game series. Miami then returns home to host Atlanta for a four-game set starting Monday, while Tampa Bay welcomes Baltimore for a three-game series beginning Monday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of 7-3 in favor of the Rays, and its ELO system gave Tampa Bay a 59.7 percent probability to win. Miami was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5, and the total of nine runs went under the over-under line of eight.