The Tampa Bay Rays got seven strong innings from Shane McClanahan, and hit four home runs, including a grand slam from Brandon Lowe to steamroll the Baltimore Orioles in a 12-3 win Saturday at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Tampa Bay jumped on Orioles starter Spenser Watkins in the second, as Yandy Diaz led off the inning with his eighth home run of the season. Joey Wendle followed with a single, and moved to third on a double by Manuel Margot before Kevin Kiermaier brought him home with a groundout to double the lead.
Baltimore came back and took the lead on McClanahan in the third, as Jorge Mateo doubled with one out, stole third and scored on a throwing error by Mike Zunino. Richie Martin followed with a walk, and Cedric Mullins blasted his 19th home run of the season to make it a 3-2 Orioles lead.
Tampa Bay took the lead back for good with one out in the fifth, as Lowe doubled to right-center and Nelson Cruz followed with a two-run shot, his 23rd of the year and fourth as a member of the Rays.
Brett Phillips, who came in for Kiermaier in the third inning after the center fielder experienced a some right knee discomfort, added an RBI double in the sixth, scoring Joey Wendle, who had reached on an error on Richie Martin.
McClanahan would get through seven full innings, and allow just one hit after the third inning to earn his sixth win of the year.
Tampa Bay would bust the game open in the eighth, as a base hit by Wendle and a fielder’s choice grounder by Manuel Margot with an error by Mateo off reliever Dustin Knight, coupled with a single by Mike Zunino off Cesar Valdez loaded the bases for Lowe, who took the first pitch the opposite way and off the foul pole in left for his 24th home run of the year and second grand slam of 2021.
Wander Franco followed later in the inning with a solo homer off Valdez, his fourth of the year and first in the big leagues left-handed.
The Rays added two more runs in the ninth off Isaac Mattson, who loaded the bases on singles by Wendle and Margot and a walk to Phillips, and after striking out Zunino, walked Lowe to force in Wendle, and allowed Margot to score on a wild pitch, making it 12-3.
Dietrich Enns worked a scoreless eighth in his first outing with the Rays, and Collin McHugh, who was activated from the 10-day injured list before the game, put up a zero in the ninth to finish things off.
The victory, coupled with Boston splitting a doubleheader in Toronto, extends Tampa Bay’s lead in the American League East to three games.
The Rays can finish off a sweep of the weekend series Sunday, as Michael Wacha (2-3, 5.26 ERA) takes on Jorge Lopez (3-12, 5.91 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 1:05.
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.
