DETROIT (Interstat) — Drew Rasmussen pitched six innings of three-hit ball, Jonathan Aranda homered and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Detroit Tigers 4-1 on Monday night at Comerica Park.

Rasmussen allowed one earned run and struck out five while improving to 14-5. He retired 10 of the first 11 batters he faced and kept the Tigers off balance with a steady diet of strikes. The Rays’ bullpen preserved the lead with three scoreless innings, and Bryan Baker worked a tense ninth for his 38th save.

Tampa Bay struck quickly in the first inning. Yandy Díaz singled to center, and Ryan Vilade followed with a sharp single to left that was misplayed by left fielder Brett Callahan, allowing Díaz to reach third and Vilade to move to second. Junior Caminero grounded out to short, scoring Díaz, and Jonny DeLuca singled to put runners at the corners. Aranda then grounded into a force play that scored Vilade, giving the Rays a 2-0 lead before Detroit recorded its second out.

The Tigers threatened in the bottom of the third when Javier Báez singled with two outs, but Colt Keith struck out to end the inning.

Tampa Bay added a run in the fourth. Jorge Mateo led off with a double to left, moved to third on Nick Fortes’ sacrifice bunt and scored on Chandler Simpson’s bunt single down the third-base line. Simpson’s squeeze-style hit gave the Rays a 3-0 cushion.

Detroit answered in the bottom of the fourth. Kevin McGonigle doubled to center, and Dillon Dingler singled to right to put runners at the corners. Brett Callahan’s sacrifice fly to center scored McGonigle, cutting the lead to 3-1. Zach McKinstry lined out to end the inning.

Aranda stretched the lead in the sixth, driving a 1-0 pitch from Tigers starter Framber Valdez over the right-center field wall for his 16th home run. The solo shot made it 4-1 and gave Rasmussen all the support he would need.

Valdez took the loss, allowing eight hits and three earned runs over six innings. He struck out two and walked two. The left-hander fell to 8-9 on the season. Tanner Rainey followed with two scoreless innings for Detroit, allowing no hits and striking out two. Tyler Holton worked a scoreless ninth, giving up one hit and striking out one.

The Rays had a chance to add more in the third when DeLuca doubled to right with Caminero on first, but Caminero was thrown out at home on a relay from right fielder Zach McKinstry to second baseman Hao-Yu Lee to catcher Dillon Dingler. The play was reviewed and the call on the field was overturned, ending the inning.

Tampa Bay’s bullpen took over after Rasmussen departed. Garrett Cleavinger struck out two in a perfect seventh, and Manuel Rodríguez gave up one hit while striking out three in the eighth. Baker worked the ninth and allowed a hit and a hit-by-pitch but escaped after striking out three, including Zach McKinstry and Spencer Torkelson with runners on base.

Simpson finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. DeLuca went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Aranda was 1-for-4 with the homer and two RBIs. Yandy Díaz reached base twice with a single and a walk. Mateo added a double and a walk.

Detroit managed five hits, with Báez and Dingler each collecting one. McGonigle doubled and scored the Tigers’ only run. Torkelson doubled in the eighth but was left stranded. The Tigers struck out 13 times as a team.

The victory continued a strong stretch for the Rays, who have won two straight after a loss to Baltimore on Friday. The Rays moved to 78-53, while the Tigers dropped to 61-70.

The game was played in 2 hours, 36 minutes before an announced crowd of 23,265. The teams conclude their three-game series with a doubleheader on Tuesday, followed by another game Wednesday. After that, Tampa Bay hosts San Diego and the New York Mets, while Detroit hosts the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Tampa Bay 3, Detroit 2. Interstat’s ELO system gave Tampa Bay a 50.30 percent probability of winning. Tampa Bay was a pregame favorite at minus 1.5 on the run line. The over-under was set at 7.5, and the combined total of five runs went over that line.