Game 155: Rays 9 Baltimore Orioles 6— Postgame News and Notes
Lucas Duda hit a record-setting homer on Saturday, and Jake Odorizzi had his third strong start for the Rays in his last four outings. Despite a hairy bottom of the ninth, Tampa Bay (76–79) won for the second straight night over Baltimore, 9–6.
Odorizzi allowed one run or fewer for the third time in that four-start stretch. Odorizzi’s given up just five total hits in the three impressive outings. In this start he gave up three hits and two walks while striking out a season-high nine.
Baltimore actually took a 1–0 lead against Odorizzi and the Rays in the first. Jonathan Schoop doubled to left with two out. Adam Jones then hit a grounder wide of first and Duda threw to first and it deflected off Jones up the right field line. Schoop scored on the miscue and Jones ended up at third on the infield hit and two-base throwing error. Odorizzi struck out Chris Davis to limit the damage. Odorizzi held the Orioles to 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position with three strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Tampa Bay had just five baserunners in six innings against former Rays righty Jeremy Hellickson, but made them count. With two out in the third, Adeiny Hechavarria singled to center, the first player to reach against Hellickson. Kevin Kiermaier followed with a base hit to left-center, putting runners at the corners. Lucas Duda, who started the day 7-for-14 against Hellickson, got ahead 3–0 before hitting the ninth pitch of the at-bat over the right field wall for a 3–1 lead.
Duda’s homer was the 217th for Tampa Bay, setting a new franchise record, surpassing last year’s mark. It was the 13th homer for Duda with the Rays, and 30th overall.
The Rays tacked on two unearned runs against Richard Bleier in the seventh. Steven Souza Jr was hit by a pitch with one out, and Corey Dickerson reached on a rare Manny Machado error. Wilson Ramos then singled to right, scoring Souza for a 4–1 lead. A Brad Miller sac fly followed, making it 5–1.
Tampa Bay then scored four runs in the ninth against Mike Wright. Logan Morrison made it 6–1 with his 37th homer this season. Only Carlos Pena has hit more homers in a season with Tampa Bay. Brad Miller added a run-scoring double, and Adeiny Hechavarria capped a four-run rally with a two-run single.
After Odorizzi, Andrew Kittredge threw a scoreless seventh. Sergio Romo got two outs in the eighth and Xavier Cedeno got the final out in that frame.
Chase Whitley allowed five hits to start the ninth (although one was a potential double play ball that was scored a hit), allowing Baltimore to score three runs. Whitley then gave way to Tommy Hunter. After Manny Machado’s ground single to left made it 9–5, Jonathan Schoop flew out for the first out. Adam Jones struck out, but Chris Davis singled, making it 9–6. Alex Colome then got Trey Mancini, the 10th batter of the inning to fly to right, ending the game, as Colome earned his 46th save.
The Rays and Orioles wrap up a four-game series on Sunday. Chris Archer (9–11 4.02) starts opposite fellow righty Dylan Bundy (13–9 4.24). Coverage on the Rays Radio Network begins at 1 p.m., and Dave and Andy will have the call with first pitch at 1:35. Join us at the Guy Harvey Outpost of Tradewinds Island Resorts on St Pete Beach for a Rays Watch Party. Listeners in the Tampa Bay market can find the game on 1250 WHNZ on the AM dial and on Throwback Tampa (94.5 and 105.9) on FM.
