Ryan Yarbrough returned from the COVID injured list to throw five innings of one hit baseball, and Ji-Man Choi, Wander Franco, and Austin Meadows each drove in a pair of runs as the Tampa Bay Rays improved to 14-1 on the season against the Baltimore Orioles with a 8-4 win Wednesday.
Baltimore wasted little time jumping out on opener Louis Head, as Cedric Mullins took an 0-2 pitch that got too much of the plate and parked it in the seats in right-center for his 21st home run of the year. Baltimore added a second run as Austin Hays singled with two out in the frame, stole second base, and scored on a Pedro Severino base hit.
Tampa Bay responded in the botom of the first against Spenser Watkins, with one out singles by Franco and Nelson Cruz, and after Randy Arozarena drew a two-out walk to load the bases, Choi tied the contest with a base hit.
The Rays took the lead off Watkins in the fourth, as Joey Wendle led off with a double, but it would take a two-out opposite field base hit by Brandon Lowe to score the third baseman to break the tie. Lowe would come around himself to add an insurance run by stealing second and scoring on a double by Wander Franco.
Tampa Bay added three more runs in the sixth off two Baltimore relievers they have feasted on this season, as left-hander Paul Fry saw Francisco Mejia reach on an error by Ramon Urias, then walked Kevin Kiermaier and Lowe to load the bases. Dillon Tate gave up an infield single to Franco and sacrifice flies to Cruz and Meadows, stretching the lead to 8-2.
Baltimore got a run against Andrew Kittredge in the seventh on an RBI single by Austin Wynns, and Shawn Armstrong gave up a solo homer to Ryan Mountcastle in the eighth, but an RBI ground-rule double by Meadows in the home half of the eighth brought in Kiermaier, who doubled off Cesar Valdez to start the inning.
The win keeps the Rays lead in the American League East at five games.
The Rays can finish off a sweep of the four-game series, as Shane McClanahan (7-4, 3.73 ERA) takes on Jorge Lopez (3-13, 6.14 ERA). Firts pitch is scheduled for 1:10.
Steve Carney is the founder and publisher of St. Pete Nine. One of the people most associated with baseball coverage in Tampa Bay, he spent 13 seasons covering the Rays for flagship radio station WDAE, first as producer of Rays Radio broadcasts, then as beat reporter beginning in 2011. He likes new analytics and aged bourbon, and is the owner of one of the ugliest knuckleballs ever witnessed by baseball scouts.
