Ryan Yarbrough

Tampa Bay’s Ryan Yarbrough allowed six hits with no walks as he broke a 24-start winless streak Thursday, beating the Yankees, 9-2. Kathy Willens/Associated Press

NEW YORK — Ryan Yarbrough ended a 24-start winless skid with Tampa Bay’s first complete game in more than five years, Austin Meadows homered off shaky Yankees ace Gerrit Cole and drove in five and the Rays beat New York 9-2 Thursday.

The AL East-leading Rays salvaged a four-game split, improving to 10-3 at Yankee Stadium since the start of last season.

New York fell 4 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay and has dropped seven of 10 entering a weekend series against the rival Red Sox.

Meadows homered three times in the series, including a go-ahead, two-run drive off Cole in the fourth inning. He added a three-run double off Nick Nelson in the seventh.

Cole (6-3) matched a season worst by allowing five runs in five innings.

Yarbrough (3-3) hadn’t won a start since Aug. 11, 2019, when he threw a career-high 8 2/3 innings in a 1-0 win over Seattle.

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The left-hander finished this one himself, throwing a career-most 113 pitches. He allowed six hits, walked none and struck out six.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

BRAVES 5, NATIONALS 1: Dansby Swanson kept up his power surge with a two-run homer in Atlanta’s four-run sixth inning, and the Braves won at home.

Left-hander Tucker Davidson, recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett for his second start this season, gave up one hit in 5 2/3 innings with five walks and five strikeouts.

Swanson extended his hitting streak to a career-best 12 games. He has five homers in that stretch, including in back-to-back games against Washington. The homer landed about halfway up the left-field seats, his 10th this season.

Atlanta had two hits off Patrick Corbin (3-5) in five scoreless innings before finding success against the left-hander in the sixth.

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PIRATES 3, MARLINS 2: Jacob Stallings hit a three-run double in the eighth inning, lifting Pittsburgh to a victory over visiting Miami.

INTERLEAGUE

ROCKIES 11, RANGERS 6: Austin Gomber pitched six shutout innings, Charlie Blackmon homered and Colorado extended the visiting Rangers’ longest losing streak since 2003 to nine games.

Texas fell behind 9-0 by the sixth inning and lost its 15th consecutive road game, one shy of the franchise record set by the 1961 Washington Senators, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

NOTES

WHITE SOX: Outfielder Andrew Vaughn was placed on the COVID-19 injured list, with General Manager Rick Hahn saying the prized rookie was asymptomatic.

The 23-year-old Vaughn is batting .226 with four homers and 12 RBI.

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