Dylan Beavers’ pinch-hit single in the 7th and Gunnar Henderson’s homer in the 8th powered the Orioles to a 6-5 win in their series opener in Tampa Bay.
The AL-leading Rays came into Friday’s game riding a nine-game winning streak, but could never get ahead of the pesky Orioles. Baltimore and Tampa went into the 7th inning tied at two with Gunnar Henderson leading off the inning. Henderson has struggled for much of the season, but you wouldn’t have known it the way he lined a double into right field to kick off the decisive rally.
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Christian Encarnacion-Strand then stepped up looking to move Gunnar over, and did so with a hard single to left. Things then got a little weird for the O’s and Leody Taveras. The outfielder stepped up looking to lay down a safety squeeze, but ended up chopping a ball down the third base line that caught Gunnar in a run-down. The Orioles’ SS was able to retreat back to third, with CES ultimately being tagged out as Taveras took second.
After the Rays brought in right-handed reliever Kevin Kelly and intentionally walked pinch-hitter Jeremiah Jackson, it set up the would-be showdown with No.9 hitter Carlos Narváez. Instead, Craig Albernaz countered with Beavers, who laced a single under the glove of Jonathan Aranda at first to score two and give Baltimore a 4-2 lead.
After starting the rally in the 8th, Henderson punctuated the win with his 20th homer of the season. With two outs in the inning, Tyler O’Neill lined a single up the middle to bring up Gunnar. The Rays’ Chris Roycroft quickly got ahead 0-2, but grooved a cutter down the center of the plate, which Gunnar gladly deposited in the right-center bleachers and gave Baltimore a 6-2 advantage.
Yenneir Cano nearly gave the game away in the 9th, as the usually reliable reliever delivered his worst outing of the season. The non-save situation started with back-to-back singles from Richie Palacios and Taylor Walls. Cano would strike out Yandy Díaz for the first out, but a wild pitch during the AB allowed both runners to move into scoring position. Rays’ 1B Jonathan Aranda then lined a single to right to score two and cut the Orioles’ advantage in half.
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Cano then walked Chandler Simpson and allowed Simpson and pinch-runner Jorge Mateo to steal second and third. Junior Caminero would further cut into the Orioles’ lead, as an RBI groundout to third dropped Baltimore’s lead to one. Cam Sanders put an end to Cano’s nightmare, taking over needing just one out to seal the win. Rays’ outfielder Ryan Vilade attacked the first pitch he saw from Sanders, sending a lazy fly to left to end the game.
Despite the nervy situation in the 9th, the Orioles never trailed in Friday’s win. They took their first lead in the 2nd, as O’Neill led off the inning with a walk before moving to third on a softly-hit Henderson single to center. CES delivered the O’s first run of the evening, lining a sac fly to right that allowed O’Neill to score on a close play at the plate. After the Rays tied the game in the bottom of the 2nd, Colton Cowser restored the Baltimore lead in the 3rd with a solo homer into the Ray tank in center field.
The veteran righty Chris Bassitt made his first start for the Orioles since June 3rd and came out looking sharp early. He started the first inning by getting Díaz to ground out to second. He then struck out Aranda and Caminero looking, sandwiching the two Ks around a Simpson single.
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The 2nd inning has often spelled doom for the Orioles with Bassitt on the mound this year, but tonight was a different story. The 37-year-old right-hander came into Friday’s game with a 9.75 ERA in the 2nd inning this season. With the O’s up 1-0, Bassitt started the bottom of the 2nd by giving up a single to catcher Liam Hicks. The 12-year vet rebounded by getting Víctor Mesa Jr. on a first-pitch fly out, but lost the battle to former Oriole Cedric Mullin when he flipped a single to right.
After getting ahead of Richie Palacios 1-2, a Bassitt curveball caught just too much of the plate, and the Rays 2B looped a double just out of the reach of O’Neill in right. The extra-base hit drove home Hicks, tied the game at one and put Bassitt in a jam with runners on second and third.
Earlier in the season, that jam would have snowballed into a crooked number, but instead, Bassitt locked in. After walking Taylor Walls to load the bases, he got former All-Stars Yandy Díaz and Jonathan Aranda to pop up and fly out, stranding all three runners.
Bassitt gave another leave back in the 3rd as the Rays got an assist from the umpire. After the Cowser homer put the O’s up 2-1, Bassitt started the frame by getting the speedy Simpson to ground out. He then surrendered a one-out walk to Caminero, which ended up spelling trouble for the O’s. With a full count on Hicks, Caminero took off for second just as Bassitt uncorked a curveball that was originally ruled ball four. Orioles’ catcher Narváez immediately challenged the ball call, and ABS overturned it to a strikeout looking.
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However, manager Craig Albernaz tried to argue that Caminero should be sent back to first as Narváez’s reaction to challenge the incorrect call seemingly prevented him from throwing down to second. Home plate umpire Jordan Baker didn’t side with Alby and Caminero remained on second for Mesa Jr. The 24-year-old outfielder then lined a low curveball into center for an RBI single that tied the game at two.
From there, Bassitt turned on cruise control and started mowing down the talented Rays’ lineup. In the 4th, he started the inning by winning a seven-pitch battle against Palacios, getting the infielder to fly out softly to center. He then set down Taylor Walls on six pitches by getting him to bounce out to second, before closing out the inning with a Díaz 5-3 groundout.
The right-hander then flew through the heart of the Rays order in the 5th, setting down Aranda, Simpson and Caminero on just six pitches. After getting through five innings on 80 pitches, Bassitt went back out for the 6th. His control then began to slip, as he walked leadoff hitter Hicks on four pitches. He’d set down Mesa Jr. one last time on a fly out to left and then exited for Josh Walker. After the lefty reliever finished off the inning, it closed Bassitt’s line at 5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB and 3K—a solid return after 2+ months on the IL.
The win not only snapped the Rays’ nine-game winning streak but brought the Orioles within one game of the AL’s final Wild Card. Baltimore will continue their push toward the postseason tomorrow as Kyle Bradish takes the mount in Tropicana Field.
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