The Orioles used seven early runs and another strong performance from the bullpen’s back end to defeat the Rays 8-6.
Almost everything went as planned for Baltimore in the first four innings. The Orioles hit six runs and Kyle Bradish knocked out four of the first six batters he faced. The Birds climbed to a seven-river lead, but a developing mid-relief crisis propelled Baltimore into an epic meltdown.
The Rays cut the lead from seven runs to just one, but Baltimore never gave up the lead. Yennier Cano and Félix Bautista arrived in time to save the day, and the Orioles won the first of two games in Tampa Bay with an 8-6 win.
The Orioles led by four runs before the Rays ever touched a bat. Gunnar Henderson pitched first for a double, advanced with a groundball from Adleyrutschman and scored with a single from Anthony Santander.
Austin Hays followed Santander with a single, and then Baltimore’s youngest surprise player struck again. Aaron Hicks hooked a ball over the right field fence for a three-run home run. Adam Frazier followed with a walk, but Ramón Urías tapped a ball short for the final.
Baltimore continued to extend their lead by hitting some lightning-fast two-out results in the second half. Adleyrutschman worked out the count in full before securing a free pass and Santander fired the ball 405 feet to make it 6-0.
The Birds stayed calm until Ryan O’Hearn fired a solo shot in the fifth round that extended the lead to seven. Then things started to fall apart.
Bradish allowed a pair in the fifth round and a high pitch count ruled out a comeback in the sixth round. He finished the five frames with 4 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks and 8 strikeouts.
Bryan Baker delivered a hard attack down right field that Santander couldn’t catch. The ball bounced off a bouncing Santander glove and Ramirez hit a leadoff double. Paredes followed with a single that hit Harold Ramirez and cut the lead to four.
Bradish had kept the Rays off the field for the first four innings. He used a slider-first approach to hit the strikeouts early and often. The right-hander beat Yandy Diaz and Luke Raley in the first round and sent Randy Arozarena and Josh Lowe down in the second.
Bradish struggled to find his fastball and briefly lost all control late in the third. He went to Isaac Paredes and Taylor Walls before Francisco Mejia completed the countdown. Bradish bounced back with a 3-2 pusher that froze Mejia for the first time.
The 26-year-old knocked out Diaz and Wander Franco with sliders to end the inning. Bradish allowed his first bat early in the fourth inning but bowed out the next three batsmen to keep his shutout intact.
Bradish beat Paredes early in the fifth, and Mejia shot a double off the right field wall to thwart Tampa’s first run. Bradish almost minimized the damage, but a slipping Jorge Mateo failed to create an awkward pop-up on the left field line. Franco’s bloop scored Tampa’s second heat and reduced the lead to five. Baker walked through Walls and Brandon Hyde called over Mike Baumann.
Baumann clinched the second run with a foul from Mejia, but Diaz hit a single into right field, cutting the lead to three. Baumann accompanied Franco to load the bases and Hyde turned to Danny Coulombe.
The Rays sent pinch hitter Manuel Margot against Coulombe and he delivered. Margot shot a ball into left field, which scored two goals without a throw. Suddenly, a seven-run lead turned into a narrow one-run lead.
Coulombe eventually recorded the final and grabbed two more in the seventh. Yennier Cano finished the seventh inning and recorded two outs in the eighth before handing it to the birthday boy. Félix Bautista only needed a pitch to save the first of his four outs.
Hays smoked a leadoff double for that third goal in the eighth. Hicks got going again and hit a massive run with a single down the middle. The Orioles led 8-6 in the ninth inning.
The top of the ranking list failed to score in ninth place. Bautista pinned Arozarena to score the deciding run for the duration of the frame. Berg rallied by knocking out Ramirez, generating a flat flyout from Lowe and knocking out Paredes to end the game.
Bradish and offense set the tone early on, but the game should be remembered for the attitude Cano and Bautista displayed. Hicks grabbed a touch of momentum with his RBI in the eighth inning, and the Orioles gave Tampa Bay their first triple-loss streak of the season.
Tyler Wells will take over the ball tomorrow afternoon as the Birds seek a two-game win. Cano and Bautista could still be available with another day off ahead, but a good start from the WHIP leader would certainly do the Orioles a lot.
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