Alberto Callaspo and Todd Cunningham each had an RBI to help the Atlanta Braves in a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night.
Atlanta only managed five hits -- three doubles -- but it was just enough to claim a split of the brief two-game set.
Williams Perez, making his first career start, went five innings and allowed one run on six hits with seven strikeouts in the no-decision.
Brandon Cunniff (2-0) earned the win for 1 1/3 innings in relief and Jason Grilli closed it out in the ninth for his 12th save of the season.
Tampa Bay starter Jake Odorizzi (3-4) was charged with two runs on four hits and two walks in six innings of work.
Steven Souza Jr. and Evan Longoria both singled with one out in the first to put runners on the corners, and James Loney poked a sacrifice fly out to center that made it 1-0.
Atlanta went down in order over the first two frames before Andrelton Simmons doubled to begin the third and later scored on Callaspo's single to center.
Freddie Freeman knocked a ground-rule double to right with one out in the sixth and Nick Markakis followed with a sharp single to left that put runners at the corners. Cunningham sent Freeman home on a groundout to shortstop to give the Braves a 2-1 lead.
Jim Johnson followed Cunniff with a scoreless eighth inning to set up Grilli's scoreless ninth.
[SportsNetwork.com]
