TAMPA, Fla. (Interstat) — Griffin Jax pitched five innings of shutout baseball and the Tampa Bay Rays used a three-run third inning and a two-run fourth to defeat the Kansas City Royals 5-3 on Wednesday night at George Steinbrenner Field.

The victory gave Tampa Bay a 44-33 record and snapped a brief two-game losing streak. The Royals fell to 34-47.

Jax, who entered the game with a 2-5 record, allowed five hits, walked none and struck out seven. He threw 78 pitches, 53 for strikes, and lowered his earned-run average while earning his third win of the season. The right-hander came off a no-decision June 19 against Washington in which he gave up two earned runs over five innings, and a loss June 13 at the Los Angeles Angels in which he yielded five hits but no earned runs in five innings.

Bryan Baker pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his 20th save of the season. He allowed one hit and one earned run while striking out two, but the run came on a solo home run by pinch hitter Josh Rojas that cut the deficit to two runs before Baker closed out the game.

The game’s decisive moments came in the third and fourth innings after the Royals had taken an early lead.

Royals starter Noah Cameron, making his seventh start of the season, allowed eight hits and five earned runs over five innings. He struck out five and walked two, including an intentional walk. Cameron fell to 4-5.

Kansas City struck first in the top of the first inning. Carter Jensen led off with a single to center field off Jax. Nick Loftin was hit by a pitch to put two runners on, but Jac Caglianone struck out and Salvador Perez grounded into a double play to end the inning with no runs scoring.

The Royals broke through in the second inning. Michael Massey singled sharply to right field, and Isaac Collins followed with a single to left, moving Massey to second. After John Rave struck out, Kameron Misner grounded into a force out that left Massey on third with two outs. Tyler Tolbert walked to load the bases, but Jensen grounded out to second to end the inning, leaving three runners stranded.

Tampa Bay’s offense awoke in the bottom of the third. Nick Fortes singled to lead off. Yandy Díaz singled to left, putting runners at first and second. Jonny DeLuca executed a sacrifice bunt, advancing both runners. Cameron then intentionally walked Junior Caminero to load the bases with one out.

Ryan Vilade grounded out to first baseman Caglianone, but the throw to first was errant, allowing Fortes and Díaz to score and Caminero to advance to third. The error gave the Rays a 2-0 lead. Jonathan Aranda then singled to left, plating Caminero to make it 3-0. Ben Williamson flied out to end the inning.

The Rays added two more runs in the fourth. Taylor Walls doubled to left to lead off. Chandler Simpson sacrificed him to third. Fortes was hit by a pitch to put runners at the corners. Díaz singled to left, scoring Walls to make it 4-0. DeLuca followed with a double to left, scoring Fortes and sending Díaz to third. Caminero walked to load the bases, but Vilade struck out and Aranda was called out on strikes after a challenge overturned the call.

Kansas City finally got on the board in the fifth inning. With one out, Jensen walked. Loftin flied out, bringing Caglianone to the plate. Caglianone reached on a fielding error by shortstop Taylor Walls, with Jensen advancing to third on the play. Perez then reached on a fielding error by left fielder Chandler Simpson, allowing both Jensen and Caglianone to score, cutting the lead to 5-2. Massey doubled to right, putting runners at second and third, but Collins struck out to end the inning.

The Royals mounted a threat in the sixth inning against Tampa Bay relievers. After two strikeouts, Tolbert singled, but Jensen flied out to left to end the inning.

Tampa Bay’s bullpen took over after Jax exited. Garrett Cleavinger pitched a perfect seventh, striking out one. Cole Sulser worked a scoreless eighth, allowing one hit and striking out two. Kevin Kelly pitched a scoreless ninth, allowing one hit and striking out one, before giving way to Baker for the save.

Kansas City’s bullpen also performed well. Beck Way pitched a scoreless sixth, allowing one hit. Daniel Lynch IV pitched a scoreless seventh, allowing no hits. Lucas Erceg pitched a scoreless eighth, allowing one hit and striking out one.

Rojas provided the Royals’ final run in the ninth inning. With one out, he hit his first home run of the season to right field off Baker. Jensen struck out and Loftin lined out to left to end the game.

The attendance was 11,857. The game lasted 2 hours, 32 minutes.

Tampa Bay improved to 44-33, while Kansas City dropped to 34-47. The Rays had lost the previous two games of the series, both by one-run margins – a 12-5 defeat Tuesday and a 2-1 loss Monday. The Royals had won two of three games at St. Louis over the weekend before coming to Tampa.

The Rays next host the Royals on Thursday before a three-game series with Arizona. The Royals continue their road trip with a three-game set at the Chicago White Sox starting Friday.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Kansas City 4, Tampa Bay 3. Interstat’s ELO system gave Tampa Bay a 55.90 percent probability of winning. Tampa Bay was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5.