St. Petersburg, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – The Baltimore Orioles aren’t likely
to forget this series win.
Adam Jones delivered a go-ahead two-run single to punctuate a three-run
seventh inning that lifted the Orioles to a 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay
Rays on Sunday.
For the second day in a row, the Orioles closed out a win in the top of the
ninth inning as the home team in an away stadium.
They won the last two games in the three-game series, which was moved to St.
Petersburg because of the recent riots in Baltimore, which forced two
postponements last week.
“People have been through worse. We’re athletes,” said Jones, who was 4-for-4.
“There are more people in Baltimore facing tougher hardships than us. We get
to play baseball for a living. … You have to look at people who actually
have to face hardships, and those are the people in Baltimore right now.”
Zach Britton recorded a four-out save, stranding a runner after entering the
game in the eighth inning, then working around a leadoff walk in the ninth.
Orioles starter Wei-Yin Chen threw six innings, giving up two runs on seven
hits and two walks.
Tampa Bay starter Nathan Karns threw five shutout frames, allowing just two
hits and a walk.
James Loney hit a solo homer for the Rays, who have dropped four of their last
six.
Travis Snider hit a leadoff single to spark Baltimore’s three-run rally in the
seventh. Manny Machado kept the inning alive with a two-out walk and Jimmy
Paredes delivered a tying double after Kevin Jepsen replaced Steve Geltz
(1-1) on the mound.
Adam Jones followed with his single to center, giving the Orioles their 4-2
lead.
“It was just one of those days where the opposition handled us,” said Rays
manager Kevin Cash.
Earlier, Loney lined an 0-2 fastball over the right-field wall with two outs
in the second inning for his second homer of the season.
Logan Forsythe led off the top of the fourth inning with a drive to center but
was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a triple when he slid past the
bag at third base and was tagged. It proved costly, as Evan Longoria followed
with a walk and Joey Butler singled, but the Rays failed to score.
Kevin Kiermaier hit a leadoff single in the fifth, went to second on Brandon
Guyer’s base hit and scored on Forsythe’s two-out single to give the Rays a
2-0 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, singles by Machado, Jones and pinch-hitter Rey
Navarro produced a run for the Orioles, with Machado coming home on Navarro’s
hit to right.
Game Notes
Tommy Hunter (1-1) threw a perfect seventh inning to earn the win for the
Orioles … The Rays start a three-game series in Boston on Monday … The
Orioles will play their next six games in New York — two against the Mets
starting on Tuesday and then four against the Yankees.
