Jeremy Hellickson pitched seven strong innings for his first home win in three months and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Kansas City Royals 5-1 on Monday night.
Hellickson (8-8) allowed one run and six hits in ending a stretch of seven consecutive home winless starts, dating back to a 2-1 victory over Boston on May 16.
Tampa Bay was coming off an 8-2 road trip that concluded with a four-game sweep over the Los Angeles Angels.
The Rays went ahead 4-1 in the fourth on Jose Labaton's RBI single and a run-scoring double from Desmond Jennings off Will Smith (4-5).
