The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Baltimore Orioles 4-1 Sunday and took not only the weekend series in Tropicana Field, but also the season series against Baltimore. This gives the Rays the tie-breaking advantage over the Orioles which is huge for the close race the American League wild card has been.
History Almost Made
Tampa Bay Rays starter Drew Rasmussen looked brilliant all game on the mound with great breaking balls that fooled plenty of batters. He had his high-velocity sinker working all day to his advantage. Another big key to the victory was keeping his pitch count low, averaging 10.9 pitches an inning. The O’s batters were aggressive all game and it resulted in some short-lived at bats ending up as fly outs and groundouts. The lack of base runners was detrimental to the Orioles all afternoon. Jorge Mateo ended all hopes of a perfect game on the first pitch of the ninth inning. Rasmussen still put up a brilliant game, pitching 8.1 innings and giving up just one base runner and one earned run. He also tallied seven strikeouts and earned the win. He would have been the 24th pitcher in MLB history to have a perfect game, but he came up three outs short.
Rasmussen on his performance: “Once you start rolling and you realize that the ball is coming out well, it’s about making one pitch at a time, you can’t get ahead of yourself.”
Jason Adam would come in to finish the game and record his sixth save of the year for Tampa Bay.
Rays Offense
The Rays offense has struggled since the all-star break, but Sunday was an exception. The team tallied eight hits total.
The scoring began with Randy Arozarena launching a three run homer 402 feet into right field to make it 3-0 Tampa Bay in the third inning. It was his 15th homer of the year and he remains the team leader for home runs on the season.
Another run was added in the fifth inning with a right field base hit by trade deadline acquisition David Peralta. The RBI single scored shortstop Taylor Walls from third and made it 4-0. It was Peralta’s fourth RBI with the team. Walls contributed with two hits on the day along with Rays catcher Fransisco Mejia, who also racked up two hits. Luke Raley and Jose Siri also found their way into the hit column.
Next Up
The Rays will travel to the Bronx to face the New York Yankees. After the series with New York, the Rays will head back to Tampa Bay to host the Royals.