Rays 3, Orioles 1: David DeJesus belted a solo homer in the first inning and six pitchers combined to give up only three hits as host Tampa Bay won its third straight to start the four-game series.

Desmond Jennings and Wil Myers each collected two hits for the Rays, who hold the top spot in the American League wild-card race – a half game ahead of Cleveland. Enny Romero gave up one hit over the first 4 2/3 innings in his major-league debut and Brandon Gomes (3-1) struck out the only two batters he faced for the win.

Matt Wieters’ double that hit off the catwalk with two outs in the ninth plated the only run for the Orioles, who dropped 4 1/2 games behind Cleveland for the second AL wild-card spot. Baltimore starter Scott Feldman (5-5) allowed three runs and six hits while striking out seven over 6 1/3 innings to suffer the loss.

DeJesus lined a solo home run into the right field seats on the 10th pitch of the at-bat to lead off the first inning and give the Rays a 1-0 lead. Romero, who walked four and did not strike out a batter, was pulled after two-out error put two runners on in the fifth and Gomes fanned Manny Machado to end the threat.

The Rays added two runs in the sixth when Matt Joyce’s sacrifice fly plated pinch runner Sam Fuld and James Loney dumped an RBI single into left-center. Wesley Wright, Jamey Wright and Joel Peralta combined for 2 2/3 hitless innings before Fernando Rodney gave up the one unlucky run in the ninth before posting his 36th save.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Tampa Bay 3B Evan Longoria was a late scratch from the starting lineup due to flu-like symptoms, but came on in the eighth inning. Jennings left the game in the sixth with tightness in his left hamstring. … Baltimore 1B Chris Davis is 2-for-14 in the series with five strikeouts after going hitless in four at-bats Sunday. … Romero is the 10th different starting pitcher for the Rays this season -- their most since 2006 when they used 12.