Brady Singer took a shutout into the eighth inning and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1 on Sunday for their fourth straight victory.

Cincinnati Reds Pitch Their Way to a Sweep of Tampa Bay Rays. Singer was magnificent as the Reds swept Rays on Sunday to improve to 56-50 on the season.

The game started with back-to-back singles by the top two guys on the Reds’ lineup, and after a slow roller to the left side of second base, Walls couldn’t quite make the play, and the Reds put the first one on the scoreboard.

A majors-worst 7-18 record over the last month, and Thursday’s looming trade deadline, make for an interesting dynamic.

Tampa Bay could muster only three hits on Sunday, and the Cincinnati Reds grabbed a 2-1 victory to sweep the series at Great American Ball Park. The Rays are back to .500 now for the first time in two months.

Tyler Stephenson homered and drove in three runs and Nick Martinez struck out five in five innings as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-2 on Friday night.

BOTTOM LINE: The Tampa Bay Rays will try to end a six-game road losing streak when they visit the Cincinnati Reds. Cincinnati has a 30-22 record at home and a 55-50 record overall. The Reds have a 26-5 record in games when they hit at least two home runs.

The Reds' hat was blue with a red wishbone "C" intended to call upon Reds uniforms from 1947-54. The Rays wore a black hat that contrasted against the navy uniform tops they wore on Saturday. The front of the cap featured Tampa's original green and yellow "TB" logo from their 1998 expansion season.

All that's between the Reds and the 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline on Thursday are three key games against the superstar-laden Dodgers. But as they've often stressed as a club seeking a playoff berth, there was no looking ahead.