ST. PETERSBURG, Fla, (AP) — Curtis Mead hit his first home run of the season and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Detroit Tigers 7-5 on Wednesay night to avoid a three-game sweep.

Ben Rortvedt collected his second RBI of the game with a single and scored on Mead’s two-run drive off Will Vest (1-1) that put the Rays ahead for good in the sixth inning. It was Mead’s first homer since Sept. 22.

Tampa Bay had lost three in row and five of seven.

“Awesome, for sure,” Rortvedt said. “Especially losing the first two games, our backs are against the wall. Really trying to come out with a win as we go into the off day. This is huge for us.”

The Tigers completed a six-game trip at 4-2 and are 10-4 on the road this season.

‘Well, the series win is nice,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said, “We’re’re happy with the road trip. It doesn’t end well. But keeping things in perspective, we’re doing some good things and we’re winning series, which is key. You want to get greedy when you have the chance to sweep. They came up bigger in the big moments and won the game.”