ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier jammed his right thumb sliding into second base Saturday, but it didn't bother him at all as he rounded the bases Tuesday on an eighth-inning home run that lifted Tampa Bay to a 2-0 win over the Atlanta Braves at Tropicana Field.

"They said if you can tolerate the pain, then you can play, and that's all I need to hear," said Kiermaier, who lifted his fifth home run of the season off Braves starter Williams Perez for the only runs of the game.

The Rays got seven innings of scoreless pitching from starter Erasmo Ramirez (9-4), who improved to 9-0 when he has two or more runs of support. The bullpen completed the shutout, with Xavier Cedeno getting the last two outs for his first save -- the seventh Rays pitcher to get a save this season.

"Credit Erasmo Ramirez for throwing his butt off and keeping us in the game the whole time," Kiermaier said. "It's always fun winning these pitcher's duels like this. I told the guys after the game: I don't always hit home runs, but when I do, I make them count."

The Rays (57-56) won their third straight and moved above .500 for the first time in 20 games. The Braves (51-62) had won three of four coming in, but had 16 straight batters retired from the second to eighth inning by Ramirez (9-4).

Perez matched Ramirez zero for zero until the eighth, when the Rays got their third hit of the game on an infield single by shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. With one out, Kiermaier sent a pitch over the wall in right field.

"Can't complain really," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "We swung the bats well, hit some balls at people and couldn't capitalize. Ramirez pitched well. He really did, changed speeds a little bit with all his stuff. It's a shame you have to lose this ballgame because it was well-played on both sides."

The Rays closed out the win with strong relief as Brandon Gomes inherited a runner in the eighth, but got three straight outs.

Gomes got the first out of the ninth, with Cedeno recording the final two outs to give the regular late-inning bullpen a night off. It's the 10th time this season the Rays have won while scoring one or two runs.

For seven innings, Perez and Ramirez were locked in a scoreless duel, with Perez holding the Rays to just two hits in those seven innings.

The Rays' only early offense came in the second inning, with a single from second baseman Logan Forsythe and a ground-rule double by Cabrera. That put two in scoring position with one out, but Perez got out of the jam, getting right fielder Daniel Nava to line out to shallow left, then getting Kiermaier to pop out to right field to end the inning.

The Braves struggled against Ramirez as well, getting two hits in the first but failing to score. Center fielder Cameron Maybin singled and tried to score on a double by designated hitter Nick Markakis, but he was thrown out at home by Nava on a relay from Forsythe.

"I know we're in the big leagues, but it's so hard to relay the ball, to have a clean play and have the catcher put a tag on a speedy runner, but that's what they did today," Gonzalez said.

Atlanta added two hits in the second on singles by third baseman Adonis Garcia and shortstop Andrelton Simmons, but right fielder Eury Perez popped out to end the inning.

From there, Ramirez retired the next 16 batters in order, keeping the shutout through six innings. The Rays had leadoff walks in the first and fifth innings, but Perez got double plays to avoid damage both times.

NOTES: Rays SS Asdrubal Cabrera entered Tuesday's game hitting .465 (20-for-43) since returning from the disabled list on July 28, including a streak of six straight games with multiple hits that ended Sunday. ... Braves OF Nick Markakis has the majors' best batting average in interleague games since it began in 1997, with a career average of .337. He was 17-for-44 (.386) in 12 games this season entering Tuesday's game. ... Tampa Bay came in with an eight-game streak with at least one home run, its longest streak in more than two years, going back to May 2013. That was a 17-game streak. The Rays have 27 home runs in 21 games since the All-Star break, after getting 78 in 91 games before the break.