Baltimore Orioles vs Tampa Bay Rays Match Player Stats On Jun 25, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Jun 25, 2017

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Rays' bullpen remains the team's biggest weakness, and the Baltimore Orioles rallied to tie the game in the eighth and win it 8-5 with three in the ninth to take a three-game series at Tropicana Field.

In a tie game in the ninth, Rays closer Alex Colome (1-3) gave up an RBI double to Joey Rickard, then after loading the bases with an intentional walk, he hit Jonathan Schoop to bring in a second run and Rickard scored on a sacrifice fly by Adam Jones.

The Rays (40-38) had been 35-3 this season when leading after seven innings, and the Orioles (37-38) had been 3-34 when trailing after seven.

Baltimore right-hander Brad Brach (2-1) earned the win in relief, pitching the final two innings, includng a 1-2-3 ninth. The Rays hadn't lost a home series since they dropped three of four to the Royals in early May.

The bullpen struggles started an inning earlier, as Rays reliever Chase Whitley, trying to hold a one-run lead in the eighth, gave up a solo home run to Jonathan Schoop, his 15th of the season to tie the game at 5-5.

In the fifth inning, the Rays got to Baltimore starter Chris Tillman, who came in with an 8.39 ERA, as Mallex Smith and Corey Dickerson singled, setting up a three-run homer by Evan Longoria to give the Rays a 5-3 lead. Longoria's 12th home run of the season went to left field and shifted momentum back to the home team, which had won seven straight rubber games and had split the first two games of the series with Baltimore.

Baltimore got within a single run on Trey Mancini's solo home run in the sixth off Rays starter Jake Odorizzi -- his 11th straight appearance giving up a home run, the longest such streak by a Rays pitcher since James Shields in 2006.

The Orioles jumped ahead with a two-run rally in the second -- Caleb Joseph singled, Craig Gentry doubled, and both scored on a double by Paul Janish off Rays starter Jake Odorizzi.

The Rays' first two runs were brought in by second baseman Taylor Featherston, who had an RBI single in the second and a sacrifice fly in the fourth, cutting the Orioles' lead to 3-2 after Joseph added a solo home run, his third.

NOTES: The Rays are making a change to their starting rotation, with LHP Blake Snell rejoining the rotation Wednesday after a solid stint in the minors. RHP Erasmo Ramirez will move back to the bullpen to make room, and Tampa Bay will need to make a roster move before Wednesday to open a 25-man spot for Snell. ... Baltimore will have RHP Kevin Gausman on the mound Tuesday as the Orioles open a three-game series at Toronto. Tampa Bay will start RHP Alex Cobb on Tuesday to open a three-game set at Pittsburgh. ... An official scoring change was made to Friday's game, and DH Mark Trumbo's fourth-inning single has been changed to an error on Rays SS Tim Beckham. That makes an ensuing run unearned, so RHP Chris Archer's season ERA drops from 3.97 to 3.88 with the change.