Aaron Nola was given a 2015 Phillies welcome with no run support in his major-league debut.
Nola, the Phils' 22-year-old prized pitching prospect, impressed in start No. 1, allowing just one run over six innings in a 1-0 Phillies loss.
The lone run of the game came on Rays pitcher Nathan Karns' solo home run on the first pitch of the third inning. It was Karns' first major-league hit.
Nola hit 94 mph on the radar gun but sat mostly at 92. He also featured a curveball with sharp break and a changeup.
The loss ends the Phillies' winning streak at four games. They are 33-63; the Rays are 48-48.
The Phillies have been shut out 11 times this season, second-most in the majors to the Padres (13). The Phils were shut out 15 times in 2014 and 15 times in 2013.
MLB
Starting pitching report
Nola was in control much of the night. The only inning he allowed multiple baserunners was the fifth, when the Rays had first and second with two outs before he struck out Rays rightfielder Steven Souza Jr. for the third time.
Nola allowed five hits, a walk and a run over six innings. He's only the ninth Phillies starting pitcher in 96 games this season to allow no more than six baserunners and one run over at least six innings.
In a first-inning sequence, Nola threw two fastballs past Evan Longoria high in the zone before striking him out flailing at a two-strike curve. His fastball showed some sneaky speed.
Nola kept the ball low and the Rays struggled to hit it out of the infield. Of the 18 outs Nola recorded, six were strikeouts and nine were groundouts.
As best as we can tell, Nola is the first pitcher since interleague play began in 1997 to allow his first major-league run in his debut on a home run by an AL pitcher.
Karns pitched well, shutting the Phillies out for five innings before being lifted. When ace Chris Archer isn't on the hill, the Rays have an organizational philosophy of preventing their starter from facing a lineup more than two turns through the order.
Karns allowed three hits and struck out four.
Bullpen report
Luis Garcia, Jeanmar Gomez and Jake Diekman combined for three scoreless innings of relief with four strikeouts.
All 10 pitches Diekman threw were strikes.
The Rays' pen allowed one hit over four scoreless innings.
At the plate
The Phillies had four loud swings off Karns that resulted in a grand total of one hit.
Freddy Galvis flew out to the right-field wall in the first inning and doubled off the top of it in the third.
Ryan Howard lined out sharply to center in his first at-bat.
And Cody Asche crushed one foul before striking out looking in the fourth.
Not much else to report on a night when the Phils scattered just four hits. Domonic Brown had two of them to raise his batting average to .214, the highest it's been since he was 2 for 8 to start his season.
The Phils' best chance came with two on and two out in the seventh against lefty reliever Jake McGee, but pinch-hitter Jeff Francoeur struck out swinging.
In the field
Rays centerfielder Kevin Kiermaier, a terrific defender, robbed catcher Cameron Rupp of a hit by diving forward to snag a sinking liner to start the fifth.
On the bases
Asche took a wide turn around second on Brown's second-inning single and was thrown out at third by Kiermaier. A questionable decision with nobody out.
Cesar Hernandez, batting third for the first time in his career, was caught stealing to end the sixth. Hernandez had been successful on his last 10 steal attempts.
Night off
Maikel Franco, nursing a sore right elbow, sat out of Tuesday's game, and though he is feeling better, will likely have Wednesday's game off as well (see story).
Minor transaction
The Phillies traded 26-year-old right-handed reliever Tyler Knigge to Seattle for cash considerations.
Up next
The three-game series with Tampa Bay ends Wednesday afternoon at 1:05 when lefty Adam Morgan (1-2, 3.91) duels talented Rays right-hander Jake Odorizzi (5-6, 2.80).
Odorizzi has a 1.94 ERA at Tropicana Field compared to 3.94 on the road this season.
Rotation setup
Here are the probable pitching matchups for this weekend's trio of day games at Wrigley Field:
Friday, 4:05 p.m. — RHP Jerome Williams (3-7, 6.43) vs. LHP Jon Lester (5-8, 3.37)
Saturday, 4:05 p.m. — LHP Cole Hamels (5-7, 3.91) vs. RHP Jake Arrieta (11-5, 2.52)
Sunday, 1:05 p.m. — Nola (0-1, 1.50) vs. TBA
Hamels receives an extra day of rest in between turns. He has a 1.29 ERA and 0.89 WHIP this season in five starts when pitching with one extra day of rest.