(Sports Network) - Tampa Bay's first-half dominance seems to have run its course and the team is now trying to hold off the rest of the American League East as it closes out a four-game set against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field.

The Rays had been the feel-good story of the season to this point, but many were wondering when Cinderella was going to turn back into a pumpkin, and perhaps that time is now.

Tampa Bay's 8-4 setback on Saturday versus the Tribe marked the team's sixth consecutive loss and, consequently, allowed the Boston Red Sox to close to within a half game of first place with the All-Star break pending.

Asked to fill a gap in the rotation, Cleveland hurler Matt Ginter did more than that as he held the Rays scoreless in five innings, allowing five hits and striking out five as he posted his first win of the season with the big club.

Ginter got plenty of offensive support from Ryan Garko, who turned two hits into five RBI and a run scored. David Dellucci also touched the plate two times and Grady Sizemore knocked in a pair as well for a Cleveland squad that continues to languish in last place in the AL Central, despite a three-game win streak.

As for the Rays, a club that is five games under .500 on the road (19-24) so far this season, they picked up two RBI apiece from Cliff Floyd and Dioner Navarro late in the game. Scoring one of those runs was Eric Hinske as he posted three of the unit's eight hits on the night.

Starting pitcher Matt Garza was roughed up for seven runs on 11 hits and two walks, while striking out six over five innings of work.

Left-hander Scott Kazmir takes the hill for Tampa Bay today, as the team tries to stave off its second straight sweep.

Kazmir, who will be at Yankee Stadium for the Midsummer Classic on Tuesday, is just 3-3 in his last six decisions, with one of those setbacks coming against New York this past week.

The young hurler started the season with six wins in seven decisions, but this past Tuesday he failed to get any offensive support from his fellow Rays in what became a 5-0 loss to the Yankees. In that contest Kazmir surrendered just two runs on five hits and struck out nine over the course of five innings.

Kazmir, who is 1-1 in his career versus Cleveland, has failed to make it past the sixth inning in any one of his last five starts.

As for the Tribe, they are handing the ball to a slumping Jeremy Sowers in hopes of getting the left-hander his first win of the 2008 season.

Sowers, who is 1-0 in his brief career against the Rays but just 8-15 overall, has only recently been made a mainstay of the starting rotation for the Indians. On Tuesday he suffered his fourth loss in as many games when he allowed seven runs -- six earned -- on 10 hits. The Ohio native surrendered two home runs for the second straight outing and struck out just a single batter over 5 2/3 innings.

Over the last seven days the Tampa Bay batters have hit a wall, producing a collective .224 average. Carlos Pena has tried to shoulder much of the weight with his nine hits, four RBI and five runs scored in the last seven games, but it is still hard to make up for Carl Crawford who has just three hits in his last 29 at-bats (.103).

In contrast, the Indians are seeing the ball rather well these last six games, hitting .292 with nine home runs. Three of those long balls have come courtesy of Jhonny Peralta, leading to nine RBI and six runs scored. Ben Francisco, who worked three walks in yesterday's win, has a total of eight hits in the last three games and has scored five times in that frame.