ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Right-hander Erasmo Ramirez has quietly become a reliable winner in the Rays' rotation, and Friday was no different, as he held the Houston Astros to one run in six innings on the way to a 3-1 win for Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field.

"Erasmo was outstanding. He provided everything we needed to give us a chance to win the ballgame," Rays manager Kevin Cash said.

Tampa Bay (44-45) came home from a 1-6 road trip, having dropped 15 of 18 overall, but got back on track with strong pitching. That started with Ramirez -- the Rays are 7-1 in his last eight starts - and finished with the bullpen throwing three innings of scoreless one-hit relief.

Ramirez (8-3) held the Astros to one run on four hits in six innings, his ninth start this season allowing one run or less, one short of the major-league lead. The Rays scored two runs on RBI groundouts in the sixth to take the lead, adding a run in the seventh on a solo home run by right fielder Brandon Guyer.

Houston (49-40) has now lost four straight and six of seven. The Astros have scored a total of four runs in their last four games.

"It can be a cruel league sometimes when you' re having a tough time scoring," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said.

Even the Rays bullpen stepped up, with Jake McGee, Kevin Jepsen and Brad Boxberger combining for three scoreless innings of one-hit relief, retiring the last nine in order. Boxberger picked up his 21st save with a perfect ninth.

Astros starter Collin McHugh (9-5) had held the Rays to one hit in five innings, but the Rays got to him in the sixth, with catcher Rene Rivera leading off with a single off shortstop Carlos Correa' s glove, and red-hot designated hitter John Jaso hitting a double. Left fielder David DeJesus and third baseman Evan Longoria followed with RBI groundouts for a 2-1 lead. Guyer added the home run, his third of the year, in the seventh.

"He made just a couple of pitches that were hittable that they took advantage of," Hinch said. "We'll take that outing. I know he wanted to be better. The tack-on run frustrated him the most with the home run to stretch the lead. A two-run lead feels like a bigger lead than it actually is."

McHugh dominated the Rays in the first five innings, holding them to one hit - a single in the first by first baseman James Loney - and striking out six while walking one.

Ramirez, who came in with the American League' s second-best ERA since April 19 at 2.12, was in control as well. His only real mistake was a solo home run by Astros left fielder Colby Rasmus in the second inning.

Rasmus' 11th home run of the season was the only run by either team in the first five innings. Ramirez held Houston to four hits through six innings, helped by two double plays.

Ramirez made a key defensive play as well - after Rasmus' home run in the second, he walked first baseman Chris Carter and gave up a single to catcher Jason Castro. As centerfielder Kevin Kiermaier tried to get Carter at third, his throw sailed high, but Ramirez was backing up third and caught the ball.

"It was like instinct: Go for the ball," Ramirez said. "If the ball gets away, they' re both going to score. It was a good time to back up the bases. I was happy when I caught it."

The Rays came in losers of 15 of their last 18, dropping from an AL East-leading 40-30 to 4 1/2 games back of the division lead.

Ramirez' s strong outing ended a stretch of Rays pitching allowing at least seven runs in each game of a four-game sweep at the hands of Kansas City this week.

NOTES: The weekend series is a homecoming for two Astros. OF Preston Tucker played at Tampa' s Plant High School and RHP Lance McCullers, who will start Sunday, starred at Tampa Jesuit. ... The Rays had lost 13 of 15 coming into Friday's game, and only twice since they switched from "Devil Rays" to Rays in 2008 have they had a worse streak -- 13 of 14 in September 2009 and 14 of 15 in May 2014. ... The two teams went into the series ranked first and second in the American League in steals, with the Astros at 69 and the Rays at 61. The Astros, however, led the majors in home runs with 122 and the Rays had only 77.