Garza lifts Rays past M's

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Matt Garza allowed one run over seven innings and the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays beat the Seattle Mariners 9-1 on Saturday night.

Matt Joyce and B.J. Upton homered for the Rays, who moved 1? games ahead of the New York Yankees. Tampa Bay, bidding for its second division title in three years, has a magic number of two (any combination of Rays wins or Boston losses) to clinch a playoff berth.

Garza (15-9) allowed eight hits, struck out five and walked none. He was 0-2 with a 10.93 ERA in his previous three starts.

Joyce hit a two-run drive during a four-run first.

Upton had a seventh-inning solo shot and added an RBI triple during a three-run eighth.

Franklin Gutierrez singled in a run in the sixth for the Mariners, running his team-best total to 60 RBIs.

Seattle dropped to 23-54 on the road this season and has lost seven of eight against Tampa Bay in the season series.

Ben Zobrist doubled in a run, Dan Johnson had a sacrifice fly and Joyce connected against Doug Fister (6-13) for his 10th homer, helping the Rays grab a 4-0 lead in the first.

Fister allowed four runs and five hits in six innings.

Garza induced an inning-ending double play from Gutierrez with two on in the first and got Ichiro Suzuki to hit a two-out grounder with a man in third during the fifth.

Upton's homer and a run-scoring single by Carl Crawford extended Tampa Bay's advantage to 6-1 in the seventh.

Seattle left fielder Mike Carp left in the fifth with a strained right arch. He was hurt while running the bases on a double.