Dodgers fend off Rays, keep heat on Giants

LOS ANGELES — Scouts sent to watch Chris Archer on Tuesday night saw him outdueled by Bud Norris, as the Dodgers kept the heat on the first-place Giants with a 3-2 Interleague win over Tampa Bay.

Archer (5-14), whose rumored Trade Deadline destinations include Los Angeles, allowed three runs (two unearned) on four hits in seven innings with eight strikeouts. But Norris (5-9 overall and 3-2 with LA) allowed only two hits in 6 1/3 scoreless innings. He struck out six and surpassed 1,000 career strikeouts, four nights after relieving in St. Louis and allowing a walk-off home run to Matt Adams in the 16th inning.

The Rays helped the Dodgers to a pair of unearned runs in the third inning. A one-out catching error by first baseman Steve Pearce and a two-out throwing error by Archer extended the inning so Corey Seager and Justin Turner could cash them in with RBI singles. Yasmani Grandal homered off Archer leading off the seventh, his seventh homer in July and 14th of the season. Tampa Bay scored in the eighth on Brad Miller’s RBI double off Joe Blanton and a Luis Avilan wild pitch through the legs of Grandal.

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDBearing down: Norris, who allowed four home runs in his previous 6 1/3 innings, pitched out of his only real jam after Pearce’s double leading off the second. Norris got Kevin Kiermaier on a fly out, Brandon Guyer on a grounder that Seager bobbled before recovering, intentionally …

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