ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. _ The Rays scored three runs in the third inning off White Sox right-hander Mike Pelfrey on Wednesday, and that was all that was needed in a 3-1 victory at Tropicana Field.
Pelfrey loaded the bases on Evan Longoria's single, Logan Morrison's double and Colby Rasmus' intentional walk. Tim Beckham then hit an RBI single to right field, and Avisail Garcia lost the ball on the ground for a fielding error as another run scored.
With Rasmus on third, Sox third baseman Todd Frazier fielded Daniel Robertson's grounder up the line and threw home, but catcher Kevan Smith couldn't make the tag in time.
In his major league debut, Rays right-hander Jacob Faria allowed just one earned run on three hits with two walks and five strikeouts over 61/3 innings.
Jose Abreu put the Sox up 1-0 early with a first-inning RBI single to right field. Leury Garcia singled, stole second and scored.
But Faria allowed just three baserunners after that _ a walk in the third, a Kevan Smith double in the fifth and a walk to end his night in the seventh. He walked off the field to a standing ovation from Rays fans.
Pelfrey entered Wednesday 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA over his last three starts, though he didn't last longer than six innings in any of them.
On Wednesday, he allowed three runs _ two earned _ on six hits with one unintentional walk and four strikeouts over 51/3 innings.
Sox relievers Dan Jennings and Gregory Infante combined to hold the Rays scoreless through the eighth to keep the Sox within striking distance.
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