TAMPA, Fla. (Interstat) — The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Seattle Mariners 7-2 on Friday night at George Steinbrenner Field, using a five-run seventh inning and a solid start from Nick Martinez to win before a crowd of 15,568. The game lasted 2 hours, 22 minutes.

Tampa Bay improved to 55-37, while Seattle dropped to 47-48.

Martinez allowed two runs on four hits over five and one-third innings, striking out one, to earn his eighth win against two losses. He retired the first eight batters he faced and worked out of a jam in the fourth after J.P. Crawford led off with a double. Martinez induced a lineout, a groundout and a strikeout to strand Crawford at third.

Luis Castillo took the loss, falling to 3-8. He surrendered four runs on nine hits in five innings, striking out four.

The Rays struck first in the third inning. Junior Caminero doubled off the glove of third baseman Buddy Kennedy and moved to third on a Cedric Mullins groundout. Chandler Simpson singled to center to bring home Caminero for a 1-0 lead.

Tampa Bay added a run in the fourth when Richie Palacios hit a solo home run to right field, his third of the season.

Seattle answered in the fifth. Cole Young led off with a home run to right‑center, his 11th, cutting the deficit to 2-1.

The Rays responded immediately in the bottom of the fifth. With one out, Mullins homered to right, his 11th, to make it 3-1. After Simpson bunted into a groundout, Victor Mesa Jr. launched his fifth home run to right‑center, extending the lead to 4-1.

The Mariners pulled within two in the sixth. Crawford singled and Randy Arozarena singled, putting runners at first and third with no outs. Dominic Canzone grounded into a force out at second, allowing Crawford to score and making it 4-2. Cal Raleigh struck out to end the inning.

Tampa Bay broke the game open in the seventh. Jonathan Aranda singled and Caminero followed with a two-run home run to right, his 28th, giving the Rays a 6-2 lead. After a groundout by Mullins, Simpson singled and Mesa Jr. singled, putting runners at first and second. Taylor Walls hit a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Simpson for a 7-2 advantage.

The Rays bullpen shut down Seattle from there. Kevin Kelly threw two perfect innings, striking out one. Garrett Cleavinger allowed one hit but struck out two in a scoreless eighth, and Cole Sulser recorded the final two outs of the ninth.

Caminero finished 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and two RBIs. Mesa Jr. went 3-for-4 with a home run and an RBI. Palacios added a home run. For Seattle, Young homered and Crawford had two hits.

The Mariners had lost three straight entering the game, including a 4-0 loss at Miami on Thursday. The Rays had dropped four of their previous five, including a 12-4 loss to the New York Yankees on Thursday.

Tampa Bay’s defense turned a key double play in the second inning. After Josh Naylor walked, Luke Raley grounded into a 3‑6‑3 double play, erasing the baserunner. The Rays also turned a force out in the sixth to limit Seattle’s rally.

Castillo allowed a double to Aranda in the first but escaped the inning with a strikeout and a popout. He stranded two runners in the first when Mesa Jr. popped out. In the third, Castillo gave up the lead but limited further damage by getting Taylor Walls to fly out with runners on the corners.

Seattle’s bullpen kept the game within reach after Castillo departed. Eduard Bazardo pitched a scoreless sixth, striking out two. Cole Wilcox threw a scoreless seventh, allowing one hit.

The Mariners managed only five hits off Martinez and three relievers. Their best scoring opportunity after the sixth came in the seventh when Naylor singled with one out, but Luke Raley, Young and Victor Robles were retired in order.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Tampa Bay 7, Seattle 5. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Tampa Bay with a 53.00 percent probability to win. Seattle had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 9 went under the over/under line of 7.5.