Frances Edouard Roger-Vasselin notch a 7-6 (7-1), 6-4, 4-6

MIAMI -- Marlins pitcher Henderson Alvarez heard a teammate yell and realized he had been caught by surprise. Desperate for a run, the Tampa Bay Rays were attempting a delayed steal. So Alvarez wheeled toward second base and threw yet another strike. The right-hander had good command all night long, needing only 88 pitches to toss an eight-hitter for his third shutout this year. He beat Tampa Bay 1-0 on Tuesday, sending the reeling Rays home after a winless eight-game trip. "Henderson took that game over," Miami manager Mike Redmond said. "That was fun to watch." The only run scored when Christian Yelich walked on a 3-2 slider with two out and the bases loaded in the fifth inning. Alvarez (3-3) struck out five and walked none in his third consecutive scoreless outing, a stretch covering 19 innings. He retired his last five batters to close out the win in 2 hours, 10 minutes. "My sinker was working, and thankfully the batters were swinging early," Alvarez said through a translator. "That determines the brevity of the game. I was attacking the strike zone, and they were attacking as well." Alvarezs three shutouts lead the majors. He had been 0-5 in five previous career starts against the Rays, but this time he faced a team in a miserable slump. Kevin Kiermaier had the Rays only extra-base hit when he tripled with two out in the third. They went 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position and are hitless in their past 22 at-bats in those situations. Theyve scored six runs in their past six games. "Were just not able to find that hole," Evan Longoria said. "We just have to keep going, keep fighting, stay positive through the tough times." The Rays eight-game losing streak is their longest since 2009. Theyve lost 10 consecutive road games while being outscored 52-19. Tampa Bay hit into three double plays -- one on a sacrifice attempt -- and had two runners caught stealing, including Yunel Escobar on the delayed steal attempt in the fifth. He singled with one out and took off for second when Alvarez had the ball on the mound before the next batter stepped to the plate, prompting catcher Jeff Mathis to holler at his pitcher. "Escobar caught me by surprise," Alvarez said. "What alerted me was Mathis scream. An easy out. A gift." Chris Archer (3-3) allowed only five hits in seven innings, but Rays starters remained winless in the past 16 games, mostly because of poor run support. Alvarezs past four victories have been shutouts, including a no-hitter on the final day of the 2013 season. He left his previous start last Wednesday after five innings because of a sore elbow, but he had only the Rays feeling any pain Tuesday. Alvarez said his arm felt fine, and he allayed any concerns with excellent velocity from start to finish. His final pitch was a 95 mph fastball. "We could tell early on that he had great stuff and was feeling good," Redmond said. Alvarez helped himself with six assists. The biggest came after a leadoff single in the eighth, when catcher Jose Molina bunted into a 1-6-3 double play. The Marlins needed three singles -- one by Alvarez -- and a walk to score the games only run. After they loaded the bases, Yelich fell behind 0-2 but got a walk when Archer missed with a 3-2 breaking ball. "A great at-bat by Yeli," Redmond said. "I dont know how he laid off a couple of those sliders. For a young kid like that, thats an amazing at-bat." Archer hopped off the mound in dismay at the call, but a TV replay showed the pitch was wide. "Instead of executing a pitch and letting him put it in play, I put it in the umpires hands, and it turns out he made a great call," Archer said. "I should have thrown it over the plate." The four-game, home-and-home series continues with two games in St. Petersburg beginning Wednesday. The Rays play 18 of their next 21 games at home. NOTES: After the game, the Marlins optioned 2B Derek Dietrich to Triple-A New Orleans. ... Miami slugger Giancarlo Stanton broke hit bat when he lined out in the fourth inning, and the barrel sailed into the Marlins on-deck circle and hit Casey McGehee in the stomach. He wasnt hurt. ... RHP Kevin Gregg passed his physical and signed a minor league deal with the Marlins. ... Molina turned 39 Tuesday. ... RHP Tom Koehler (4-5, 3.18 ERA) is scheduled to start Wednesday for Miami against LHP David Price (4-4, 4.27 ERA). Paul Molitor Jersey . Particularly when speaking in the stadium of Tuesdays opponent: Manchester City. "Maybe they dont fear us as before," Pique said on Monday, "because in the last two years we didnt win the Champions League. Orlando Arcia Jersey . On Sunday, head coach Patrick Roy said the teams leading scorer will skate at Mondays morning practice and the club will make a decision on his status for Game 6 at that point. http://www.brewersteamshop.com/Brewers-Jonathan-Villar-Kids-Jersey/ . Locke overcame a shaky start to pitch seven innings and Josh Harrison had three hits to extend his hot streak as the Pirates beat the Miami Marlins 7-3 on Wednesday night. Yovani Gallardo Jersey . Mauer struck out to end the inning, with a runner on third base in the seventh on Wednesday and the Twins trailing 1-0. Everybody does this, of course, in a sport with a 30 per cent success rate at the plate long proven to be a benchmark of excellence. Eric Sogard Jersey . The alley-oop looked easy -- just like everything else after halftime for the Miami Heat. James scored 32 points, Wade added 22 points and eight assists, and the Heat trailed by 11 early in the second half before running away to a 107-88 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.Melbourne, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) - Three-time reigning and four-time overall champion Novak Djokovic was a predictable second-round winner Wednesday at the Australian Open. The second-seeded former world No. 1 Serb closed out the day session at Rod Laver Arena with a 6-0, 6-4, 6-4 win over Argentine Leonardo Mayer. Djokovic popped 12 aces, committed only 11 unforced errors and didnt face a single break point on another scorching hot day in Melbourne. Next up for Djokovic, who has won his last 26 matches on tour, will be Uzbekistans Denis Istomin, who ousted 30th-seeded Russian Dmitry Tursunov by a 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 margin. Spaniard David Ferrer, Czech Tomas Berdych, Swiss Stan Wawrinka and Frenchman Richard Gasquet were also among the top-10 winners on Wednesday. The third-seeded Ferrer and seventh-seeded Berdych both dismissed Frenchmen at Hisense Arena, as Ferrer beat Adrian Mannarino 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-0, 6-3 after Berdych topped Kenny De Schepper 6-4, 6-1, 6-3. Ferrer will face another Frenchman in Jeremy Chardy in the third round after the 29th-seeded Chardy downed Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-5). Berdychs next opponent will be Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who moved on after Croat Ivan Dodig retired. Dzumhur fought back from two sets down and was leading 4-1 in the fourth set when the 32nd-seeded Dodig called it quits. There were eight retirements on the mens side in the first round. Meanwhile, the eighth-seeded Wawrinka downed Colombian Alejandro Falla 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4 and the ninth-seeded Gasquet humbled former world No. 3 Russian Nikolay Davydenko 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, 6-4. Up next for Wawrinka will be rising Canadian Vasek Pospisil, while Gasquet will encounter Spanish veteran Tommy Robredo on Friday. German Florian Mayer took out 14th-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3; 15th-seeded Italian Fabio Fognini held off Finnish veteran Jarkko Nieminen 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2; the 17th-seeded Robredo registered a 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-1, 7-6 (8-6) win against Frances Julien Benneteau; 19th-seeded South African Kevin Anderson claimed a 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Austrias Dominic Thiem; 20th-seeded Pole Jerzy Janowicz fought back to best Spaniard Pablo Andujar 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-5), 6-3; American Sam Querrey cruised to a 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 upset victory over 23rd-seeded Latvian Ernests Gulbis; and the 28th-seeded Pospisil overcame Aussie Matthew Ebden 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (11-9), 6-1.dddddddddddd Querrey fired 19 aces past Gulbis, saying he had "one of the best service days of my life" on Wednesday. One other second-round result saw Frances Edouard Roger-Vasselin notch a 7-6 (7-1), 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 victory over Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. The second round is scheduled to conclude on Thursday, as world No. 1 Rafael Nadal will take on 17-year-old Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis, fourth-seeded three- time Aussie Open runner-up Andy Murray will tangle with Frenchman Vincent Millot, fifth-seeded former U.S. Open champ and last weeks Sydney titlist Juan Martin del Potro will face Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, and sixth-seeded Swiss icon Roger Federer will be opposed by Slovenian Blaz Kavcic. Nadal is the reigning U.S. and French Open champion and captured an Aussie title in 2009, while Federer owns four Aussie titles among his mens-record 17 major championships. Also on Day 4, 10th-seeded former Aussie runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will battle Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci, 11th-seeded Canadian slugger Milos Raonic will face Romanian veteran Victor Hanescu, and 25th-seeded flashy Frenchman Gael Monfils will lock horns with American Jack Sock. ' ' '