Scott Kazmir has a tough act to follow, pitching a day after teammate Matt Garza threw a one-hitter, but he could lift the Rays into first place as they open a three-game set with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Kazmir (6-3, 2.03 ERA) can only hope to make Friday's game as much fun, though he has been far from his best lately. He's failed to get through six innings in either of his last two outings and needed more than 105 pitches in both.

The ace left-hander is 0-2 with a 3.71 ERA in his last three starts after going 6-1 with a 1.40 ERA in his first seven. Kazmir has served up four homers in his past four outings after not allowing one through his first six starts.

Pittsburgh will call up Jimmy Barthmaier and Ty Taubenheim from Triple-A to start the first two games of this series.

Friday will mark the major league debut for Barthmaier, a 24-year-old right-hander who was claimed off waivers during the offseason before being sent to Double-A. He went 2-4 with a 4.86 ERA in 10 starts for Altoona before his promotion in late May to Triple-A Indianapolis, where he was 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA in five starts.

The Rays figure the more Matt Garza can get in control of emotions, the more he will be in control of his pitches.

Thursday, he was both.

And the result was a gem, a complete-game one-hitter in the Rays' 6-1, series-sweeping victory over the Marlins that lifted them to within one-half game of first place.

"What you saw there, it's not like there's been this huge transformation in how he delivers the ball, how he throws the ball or pitch selection," manager Joe Maddon said. "What you're seeing is, here's a guy who's much more under control, and now you're seeing his true abilities."

Since a June 8 confrontation on the mound and in the dugout with catcher Dioner Navarro, Garza has been working to keep himself calm and focused on each pitch.

The pay off was obvious Thursday, and the Rays think it could be a sign of good things to come.

"If I don't get upset, I'm able to control my body more," Garza said. "If I get upset, I've got too many things running through my head and I won't be able to feel what's off and what's on. And I'm able to make one-pitch adjustments."

RAYS 6, MARLINS 1: Matt Garza pitched a complete-game one-hitter, allowing only a seventh inning leadoff homer to Hanley Ramirez, as the Rays scored their team-record sixth sweep of the season and first on the road.

--1B Carlos Pena and SS Jason Bartlett are expected to rejoin the Rays lineup Friday. Pena, who has been out since June 4 with a fractured left index finger, made a one-game rehab appearance Thursday with Class A Vero Beach. He went 0-for-4 with a walk. Bartlett is scheduled to rejoin the team after Wednesday's birth of his son.

--2B Akinori Iwamura's status for the weekend series is unclear. The appeal of his three-game suspension stemming from the June 5 brawl was heard Wednesday; if there is a ruling, his suspension could start Friday.

--3B Evan Longoria hit his team-high 14th homer, the second most for a Rays rookie in a season; Jonny Gomes had 21 in 2005. Longoria also had his fourth three-hit game of the season and tied Carl Crawford for the team RBI lead with 43.

--LHP Scott Kazmir, who starts Friday winless in his last three outings, might be more successful by doing less, manager Joe Maddon said. The idea is that Kazmir's recent control problems, leading to a high pitch count and early exits, are the result of mechanical flaws from trying to throw too hard.

--2B Akinori Iwamura was disappointed about making his first error of the season Wednesday night and said it "was like striking out 10 times." His streak of 74 errorless games was sixth longest to start in season in more than 50 years.

BY THE NUMBERS: 7 -- Number of walk-off wins by the Rays, matching Cincinnati for the major-league most.