TAMPA, Fla. (Interstat) — Freddy Peralta pitched six strong innings and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Mets 6-2 Tuesday at George Steinbrenner Field. Peralta (7-11) allowed three hits and one earned run while striking out seven. Sean Manaea (4-7) took the loss.

Francisco Lindor homered for the Mets in the first. The Rays answered in the bottom half on Junior Caminero’s RBI single and took the lead in the third on Ryan Vilade’s run-scoring single. Tampa Bay broke open with three runs in the sixth, including Yandy Díaz’s homer and a sacrifice fly by Taylor Walls. The Mets scored once in the seventh. Vilade added a fielder’s choice RBI in the eighth.

The Rays improved to 83-55; the Mets dropped to 62-77. Tampa Bay had 13 hits to New York’s three. Tampa Bay evened the three-game series after losing Monday’s opener. Attendance was 16,850, and the game lasted 2:23.