ST. PETERSBURG, FLA- Amid a 9-2 record in their last eleven games, the Baltimore Orioles (59-37, 1st in AL East) strived to extend their mid-season surge at Tropicana Field in a high-stakes four-game series versus the Tampa Bay Rays (60-40, 2nd in AL East). Due to a decisive tenth-inning at-bat by right fielder Colton Cowser and exceptional pitching relief by pitcher Felix Bautista, the Orioles defeated the Rays 4-3 in extra innings to claim sole possession of first place in the AL East.
“It’s just July, that’s kind of where I’m at right now,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “This team (the Rays) is so good and so hard to play, especially here. We’ve been on the other side of those type of games I can’t tell you how many times.”
With their thrilling extra-innings win against Tampa Bay, Baltimore is first in the AL East after the All-Star break since August 15th, 2016, previously the longest streak of any team in the division. In addition, the Orioles were 6½ games back of the Rays at the start 0f July, but have created a one-game division lead during Tampa Bay’s problematic mid-season slump. Succeeding a 17-9 record in the month of June, the Rays have lost 12 of their first 15 games in July, including Thursday’s heartbreaking loss to the Orioles.
After starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow managed to throw a no-hitter and strike out three Orioles through the first two innings, the Rays managed to give Glasnow insurance in the bottom of the second. With third baseman Taylor Walls connecting on a left-field single off Kyle Gibson, the Rays had right fielder Justin Lowe and Walls on second and first base with one out. On a 1-1 count, catcher Fransisco Mejia drove Gibson’s 88 MPH changeup to center, scoring Lowe and giving Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead.
Although Glasnow’s no-hitter remained intact through the first three innings, the Orioles managed to rattle Glasnow with the top of their batting order. With a 2-2 count, third baseman and rookie standout Gunnar Henderson crushed Glasnow’s 96 MPH fastball, and managed to slide into third base after a lackadaisical throw from Randy Arozarena in left field. On Glasnow’s ensuing pitch, star center Adley Rutschman singled to right field to score Henderson to tie Tampa Bay at 1-1.
A single to left field by first baseman Anthony Santander’s first-pitch single off Glasnow gave Baltimore runners on first and second base with zero outs, before Rutschman and Santander advanced to second and third base off a wild pitch. Once again, the Orioles took advantage of the Rays’ mistake, as designated hitter Ryan O’ Hearn hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Rutschman and give Baltimore a 2-1 lead. With left fielder Austin Hays striking out on five pitches, veteran center fielder Aaron Hicks crushed Glasnow’s 97 MPH fastball for a two-out double, and Santander managed to score on a fielding error by Mejia, giving the Orioles a 3-1 lead and the Rays their third error of the inning.
For the next three innings, Glasnow and Gibson managed to hold the opposing batting order in check, combining for eight strikeouts and zero runs. In the bottom of the seventh, however, the Rays managed to string back-to-back hits for the first time all game, as Walls singled to center field and center Christian Bethancourt executed a picture-perfect bunt down the third base line. With runners on first and second, first baseman Yandy Diaz drove Gibson’s 96 MPH sinker to center field for a two-RBI double to overcome Baltimore’s two-run lead. Despite this, Gibson remained composed on the mound, getting shortstop Wander Franco to fly out and getting first baseman Luke Raley to line out to second baseman Ramon Urias and tag out Diaz for a double-play to end the inning.
In the following 8th and 9th innings, both Baltimore and Tampa Bay relied on their bullpen with Glasnow and Gibson being shut down after seven innings pitched. As it turned out, the plan worked to perfection for both teams: Tampa Bay’s relief pitchers Jason Adams and Pete Fairbanks combined to throw 30 pitches, four strikeouts, and zero hits versus six batters; Yennier Cano, Bryan Baker, and Bautista collectively threw 37 pitches, five strikeouts, and zero hits versus seven batters.
“How about Félix Bautista?” Hyde said. “I’m so lucky to have him. The reason why he pitched the 10th is because he had such an efficient ninth. … He’s amazing.”
In the top of the tenth inning, pinch hitter Adam Fraizer hit a sacrifice to Robert Stephenson, allowing Hicks to advance to third base as the ghost runner. Despite being down 0-2 in the count to Stephenson, Cowser, in his eleventh career MLB game, hit a sacrifice fly to left field and scored Hicks for a 4-3 Orioles lead. Even though Tampa Bay managed to put Raley as the tieing run and second baseman Brandon Lowe, Bautista managed to force Lowe into a 6-4-3 double-play for Baltimore to secure the competitive AL East division win.
“That was a big win not because of the standings or anything,” Gibson said. “It was big (because) it was the first game of the series and it set the tone.”