Verlander (8-6), making his first start since a four-homer inning doomed him against Cleveland last Sunday, held the Rays to sacrifice flies from Evan Longoria in the fourth inning and Logan Morrison in the sixth. An errant pickoff throw from Verlander set up the first tally, moving Logan Forsythe from first to third ahead of Longoria's loft.
Rays rookie Blake Snell (1-3) tried to keep pace, showing wild but nasty breaking pitches for most of his 5 1/3 innings. But two walks ahead of Jose Iglesias' RBI single in the second inning and a pitch he'd like back to Kinsler were too much to overcome.