St. Petersburg, FL (SportsNetwork.com) – Steve Pearce and Adam Jones each had
two RBI to stake Baltimore to a big early lead, and the Orioles held off the
Tampa Bay Rays later on to record a 6-5 victory at Tropicana Field.
Jones delivered a two-run double to highlight an opening inning in which the
Orioles scored four times off Nathan Kearns, and Pearce belted a two-run homer
in the second to help the reigning American League champions to a second
straight win in this season-opening series.
Pearce finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored, while Zach Britton notched his
first save of 2015 by striking out the side in the ninth.
Kevin Gausman (1-0) received the win with 2 1/3 innings in relief of a shaky
Wei-Yin Chen, despite surrendering a two-run homer to Kevin Kiermaier in the
bottom of the sixth that cut the lead to 6-5.
Logan Forsythe also had a two-run shot for Tampa Bay, with Kiermaier going 2-
for-4 with two runs scored.
Kearns (0-1), bumped up in the Rays’ rotation due to spring injuries to Alex
Cobb and Drew Smyly, overcame his rough beginning to throw 5 2/3 innings.
