The Tampa Bay Rays got scoreless outings from Colin Poche, Jalen Beeks, and Andrew Kittredge, and Miles Mastrobuoni and Curtis Mead each drove in a pair of runs, but the Baltimore Orioles rallied in the bottom of the ninth for a 7-6 decision Tuesday at Ed Smith Stadium.
Each of the first three Tampa Bay pitchers allowed a run in their outing. Josh Fleming gave up a RBI double to Trey Mancini in the first, while Jeffrey Springs allowed a homer to Cedric Mullins in the third and Jorge Mateo’s solo shot off Luke Bard came an inning later.
Mastrobuoni’s two-run shot in the fifth off former Ray Chris Ellis tied the game, and Taylor Walls’ RBI double in the sixth broke the tie.
Mead added a run-scoring single of his own later in the inning to make it 5-3, and Ryan Spikes’ RBI double in the eighth gave the Rays a 6-3 advantage.
Jacob Nottingham got Baltimore back to within 6-4 with a RBI single in the bottom of the eighth, and Cristofer Ogando loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth, and Kelvin Gutierrez finished the game off with a bases-clearing double.
Tampa Bay will look to start a new winning streak Wednesday when they head to North Port for another matchup with the Atlanta Braves. Right-handler Luis Patino will make his spring debut, with first pitch is scheduled for 1:05.