Tampa Bay 5, Florida 1

Sean Rodriguez drove in four runs with a home run and a double and Kelly Shoppach added a solo shot as the Tampa Bay Rays extended the Florida Marlins' misery Friday with a 5-1 home victory in the opener of their three-game interleague series.

It was the eighth consecutive loss and 16th in 17 games for Florida, which also began the month with an eight-game skid. The Marlins have dropped 19 of their last 22 contests, matching the worst stretch in franchise history endured from Aug. 13-Sept. 5, 1998.

Rodriguez, who entered with a .400 career average (10-for-25) against Florida, gave Tampa Bay a 2-0 lead in the second inning with a two-run blast. Shoppach led off the third with a shot down the left field line off Florida rookie Brad Hand (0-3), who yielded three hits and three runs over 4 2/3 innings in his third career start.

John Buck got the Marlins on the board with a leadoff blast in the fifth off Rays starter Wade Davis, who has served up 12 homers in his last eight outings. But Rodriguez sealed the win for the Rays in the eighth with a two-run double.

Davis (6-5) tossed six solid innings en route to his first career interleague victory for the Rays, who won for just the third time in eight meetings with the Marlins. Kyle Farnsworth worked 1 1/3 innings for his 15th save in 16 chances.

• Tampa Bay will play their next game at home against Florida. The Rays have a W/L % of .486 after a win and .576 after a loss.
• Florida will play their next game on the road against Tampa Bay. The Marlins have a W/L % of .438 after a win and .474 after a loss.