Justin Verlander’s worst start with the Houston Astros might have been OK if not for Wilson Ramos.

Ramos drove in four runs in the first two innings against Verlander and the Tampa Bay Rays went on to a 5-2 win over the Astros on Saturday.

”I wasn’t sharp Shareef Miller Jersey , but also I didn’t have luck on my side,” Verlander said. ”I made an adjustment during the third inning that I thought was good, but it was too little too late.”

Verlander (9-4) gave up the most runs (5) and hits (9) of any of his 23 starts since his trade to Houston late last summer. He struck out eight in a season-low five innings after coming in with a major league-leading 1.82 ERA – though it was 4.34 in six June starts. The Astros have lost his last three starts.

Matt Duffy finished with three hits, including two in the first two innings, to help the Rays win for the seventh time in eight tames to move to .500 (41-41) for the first time since June 1.

”I gave up three hard-hit balls, all to the same guy. The rest of `em, nobody hit the ball hard,” Verlander said.

Ramos got the Rays on the scoreboard with a two-run double in the first, and made it 5-0 with a two-run single in the second. Those two at bats summarized Verlander’s day.

”The first at bat, I put him in a 3-1 situation where, bases loaded, he knows a heater’s coming Zach Brown Jersey , and he hit it off the wall. So that’s my fault,” Verlander said. ”His next bat I got a ground ball up the middle on a slider, which is kind of what you’re looking for. But it found a hole.”

Tampa Bay has held opponents to two runs or fewer in five straight games for only the second time in franchise history.

”The way these guys are throwing right now, we’re tough to beat,” said Kevin Kiermaier, who scored in each of the first two innings.

Alex Bregman got the Astros on the board with a two-run homer in the sixth off Vidal Nuno. It was Bregman’s 16th home run and his fifth in six games.

”They’ve been throwing the ball well over there, and we haven’t really been able to put anything together,” Bregman said. ”Verlander was a little unfortunate today with some of the weak contact that went for hits, but we’ve got to do a better job of putting up runs for him.

Nuno (2-0) got the win after pitching 4 2/3 innings of relief, giving up two runs and four hits while striking out four. Sergio Romo pitched ninth for his seventh save in 11 opportunities.

Ryne Stanek pitched the first inning for Tampa Bay, giving up a single to Jose Altuve, Houston’s only hit in the first four innings.

RARE ERROR

Adeiny Hechavarria made a fielding error on George Springer’s grounder in the top of the sixth just before Bregman’s homer. It ended a streak of 94 games and 319 chances in which the Rays’ shortstop had not committed a miscue. It was the longest errorless streak in franchise history for a shortstop. Hechavarria’s last error had come on July 30 Devin Bush Jersey , 2017 at Yankee Stadium.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Astros: RHP Joe Smith (sore right elbow) will make what the Astros expect to be a final rehab appearance at Double-A Corpus Christi before being activated. … 1B Yuli Gurriel (paternity leave) is expected to be back in the lineup Sunday.

Rays: RHP Wilmer Font was placed on the 10-day disabled and RHP Hunter Wood was recalled from Triple-A Durham. Manager Kevin Cash said an optimistic timeframe has Font missing eight weeks. … Cash didn’t completely rule out RHP Chris Archer (left abdominal strain) from returning after his first rehab start Tuesday night锟?for Class A Charlotte.

UP NEXT

The series finale will be a matchup of two of baseball’s hottest pitchers. Houston RHP Charlie Morton (10-1, 2.54) has won three straight starts and has not given up an earned run in his last two. LHP Blake Snell (10-4, 2.31) did not give up a hit until the seventh inning of the Rays’ 11-0 win against Washington on Monday night.

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SEATTLE (0-0) at DENVER (0-0)Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, FoxOPENING LINE — Denver by 1RECORD VS. SPREAD — Seattle 6-9-1, Denver 4-11-1SERIES RECORD — Broncos lead 34-21LAST MEETING — Seahawks beat Broncos 26-20 in OT, Sept. 22, 2014AP PRO32 RANKING – Seahawks No. 18, Broncos No. 23SEAHAWKS OFFENSE — OVERALL (15), RUSH (23), PASS (14).SEAHAWKS DEFENSE — OVERALL (11), RUSH (19) Diontae Johnson Jersey , PASS (6).BRONCOS OFFENSE – OVERALL (17), RUSH (12), PASS (20).BRONCOS DEFENSE – OVERALL (3), RUSH (5), PASS (4).STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — Seattle QB Russell Wilson‘s 34 TD passes led league in ’17, including NFL-record 19 in fourth quarter. … Wilson is fourth NFL player with 3,000 yards in each of first six seasons. … S Earl Thomas ended holdout midweek after Seahawks rebuffed his request for new contract or trade. … WR Doug Baldwin‘s 29 TD catches second most in NFL since ’15. … Tyler Lockett led league with 949 kick return yards. … WR Brandon Marshall second among active players with 959 catches, 12,215 yards and third in TD receptions (82). … Marshall’s first four seasons were in Denver (2006-09), only has played against Broncos once, in 2011. … LB Bobby Wagner ranked third in NFC with 133 tackles Justin Layne Jersey , franchise-record sixth season with 100-plus stops. His 776 tackles were second most in league since ’12. … CB Shaquill Griffin‘s 14 pass breakups fourth most among rookies in ’17. Brother Shaquem, who has no left hand, will start at linebacker in first NFL game. … Broncos own longest active streak in NFL with six straight wins in openers. … QB Case Keenum set career highs in ’17 with Vikings in completions (325), passing yards (3,547), TD throws (22). His 67.6 completion percentage ranked second in league. … Rookie Royce Freeman set to become first rookie RB to start for Denver since Hall of Famer Terrell Davis in ’95. Freeman’s all-time Pac-12 leader in TD runs (60). … WR Demaryius Thomas only player in NFL with 80-plus catches and 900-plus yards each of last six seasons. … WR Emmanuel Sanders had 11 catches for 149 yards in last meeting. … LB Von Miller third player since ’82 (Reggie White, DeMarcus Ware) with 10-plus sacks in six of first seven seasons. Miller leads league with 83 1/2 sacks since ’11. … LB Brandon Marshall coming off third 100-tackle season. … Chris Harris Jr. one of three CBs in NFL with 400-plus tackles and 15-plus interceptions since rookie season in ’11. … Rookie pass rusher Bradley Chubb set North Carolina State records with 60 tackles for loss and 26 sacks. Broncos drafted him fifth overall … Fantasy tip: Sanders looks for a monster season with Keenum at QB and should test revamped Seattle secondary.___