ST. PETERSBURG -- With the Rays coming off a frustrating series loss to the Orioles that knocked them out of first place in the American League East, manager Kevin Cash laid out a simple road map back to the win column Tuesday afternoon.

For starter Tyler Glasnow?

“Just go out and pitch like he’s been pitching,” Cash said.

For their scuffling lineup?

“Find a way to have some better at-bats early on, maybe give our pitchers a little bit of run support,” he added.

Check and check.

Glasnow continued his hot streak by striking out eight over seven spectacular innings, and the Rays supported him with early run support and strong defense in a 4-1 win over the Marlins before a crowd of 20,508 on Tuesday night at Tropicana Field. Tampa Bay has won 20 of its past 22 games against Miami dating back to July 22, 2018.

It was the kind of game the Rays needed -- and one they hope will turn things around after a tough start to the second half.

“I hope it kind of sets the ship right,” said second baseman Brandon Lowe, who finished 3-for-4 with a sixth-inning home run. “[We] played a good game overall -- really solid -- and hopefully, it lets people kind of take a breath, relax and reset everything.”

Glasnow allowed only four baserunners, permitting two singles and two walks, as he sailed through seven innings on 97 pitches (68 strikes). Even without great feel for his devastating curveball, Glasnow forced the Marlins to record 17 swinging strikes -- nine against his fastball, six on his slider (the best it’s been in “a long time,” Glasnow said) and two on his curve.

But Glasnow did not sacrifice efficiency for swing-and-miss stuff, working seven innings for the second straight start while maintaining his streak of 11 consecutive outings this season with at least six strikeouts.

“That’s like the best recipe, I guess,” Glasnow said. “As long as I can be efficient and rack up the K's, that's what I want to do.”

Glasnow has rediscovered his dominant form after roughly two years of being limited by injuries, posting a 2.23 ERA with 55 strikeouts and only seven walks in 36 1/3 innings over his past six starts.

“Honestly, it's just what you expect from that guy,” Lowe said. “It’s great to see. We've seen excerpts of it here and there, and have kind of been interrupted by some injuries, so it's great to watch him go out there and be himself.”

The Rays helped Glasnow get comfortable with a three-run second inning off Marlins starter Edward Cabrera, their first time scoring more than two runs in one frame since a four-run eighth in Kansas City on July 16. Lowe started the rally with a single to center, moved to second on a bloop hit by Isaac Paredes, took third on Manuel Margot’s fielder's choice and scored on a two-run single up the middle by Josh Lowe.

Christian Bethancourt walked to load the bases, then All-Star first baseman Yandy Díaz delivered the big hit the Rays needed: a 111.1-mph two-run double to left field that made it a 3-0 game.

“We haven't done that too many times here lately,” Cash said. “So yeah, definitely, it felt good to score first.”

The Marlins’ lone run came in the third, when former Rays infielder Joey Wendle walked, advanced on two groundouts and scored on a wild pitch.

The bigger blow came on Jacob Stallings’ groundout, when Díaz sustained a left groin injury while reaching to snag a throw from Brandon Lowe and exited the game. Díaz will undergo an MRI on Wednesday and hopes to avoid the injured list.

“Initially when it happened out there, I felt like I pulled something, so that's why I acted the way I did,” he said through interpreter Manny Navarro. “But by the time I came in and got some treatment, I think I felt a little bit better.”

After that, the Rays backed up their pitching with clean defense -- including a pair of highlight-reel grabs in the eighth by center fielder Jose Siri and first baseman Luke Raley behind reliever Jason Adam.

And Lowe made it a three-run game again in the sixth with a Statcast-projected 414-foot solo homer, his 11th of the year. The second baseman’s big day at the plate boosted his slash line to .250/.357/.479 with nearly as many walks (seven) as strikeouts (10) since coming off the injured list on July 4, and Tampa Bay knows he can carry the lineup -- potentially even out of its collective funk -- if he gets hot.

“[It's] really good sign. [I'm] glad that he got into that ball there at the end,” Cash said. “[It's a] good sign for us that he's swinging the bat well and getting some results. We need some guys to get some good results. You don't have to hit it that hard all the time. Just get some hits and I think things will start to start falling our way.”