TAMPA, Fla. (Interstat) — Troy Melton pitched eight strong innings and Dillon Dingler homered to lead the Detroit Tigers past the Tampa Bay Rays 7-2 on Wednesday afternoon at George Steinbrenner Field. Melton (2-0) allowed two runs on four hits with five strikeouts, outdueling Nick Martinez (5-2), who gave up six earned runs on nine hits in four innings. Detroit scored single runs in each of the first three innings, then broke the game open with a three-run fourth on Dingler’s 14th home run. The Tigers added a run in the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Kerry Carpenter. Cedric Mullins homered for Tampa Bay. Detroit outhit the Rays 13-4. Attendance was 12,585, and the game lasted 2 hours, 14 minutes. The Tigers improved to 25-38, while the Rays fell to 36-23. Detroit has won three straight, completing a three-game sweep of the series.