Cash deploys Baker in 8th inning as Rays beat O's to avoid sweep

ST. PETERSBURG -- Staring down the barrel of a four-game sweep against the surging Orioles, Rays manager Kevin Cash left little doubt about the urgency of Monday night’s series finale.

“We need to find a way to win a game,” Cash said Monday afternoon. “The Orioles have played very well against us, and [I] feel like we need to get back to doing our thing.”

A few hours later, the Rays made it even more clear how important it was for them to get back on track.

Cash deployed Tampa Bay’s top high-leverage relievers in relief of returning starter Shane McClanahan, even when Baltimore was leading, and ultimately asked closer Bryan Baker to record a five-out save to finish the Rays’ 7-6 win over the Orioles at Tropicana Field.

The victory kept the Rays from suffering their second four-game sweep within the past month, improved their record to 75-49 and extended their lead over the Yankees for the top spot in the American League to six games.

This was a back-and-forth affair from the start, as the Orioles jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning and regained a 3-1 advantage in the fourth before the Rays responded with three runs of their own on homers by Ryan Vilade and Jorge Mateo.

The Orioles answered with their own pair of homers in the fifth, as Pete Alonso and Christian Encarnacion-Strand went deep against former Baltimore teammate Tyler Wells. But the Rays did not roll over.

In the sixth, Cash turned to top setup man Kevin Kelly, who gave up a pair of singles, but recorded a scoreless inning. Lefty Cam Booser then struck out three in a scoreless seventh, keeping Tampa Bay’s deficit at two runs. Then came the comeback.

Pinch-hitter Taylor Walls reached on a single that deflected off first baseman Coby Mayo’s glove, then Yennier Cano hit Yandy Díaz with a pitch. Up came Jonathan Aranda, who lined an RBI single to left field. Junior Caminero loaded the bases with a single back to Cano, at which point the Orioles lifted the right-hander in favor of lefty Josh Walker.

Cash responded by sending pinch-hitter Jonny DeLuca to the plate instead of hot-hitting trade acquisition Liam Hicks, and DeLuca came through. After taking two pitches and fouling off three others, DeLuca chopped a changeup over the infield and into left for a go-ahead, two-run single.

Booser remained in the game to start the eighth, but the Orioles again threatened by getting runners to first and third with one out. Then Cash turned to Baker, the All-Star closer who had not recorded more than three outs in a game this season. And Baker did his job.

First, Baker struck out Alonso and induced an inning-ending grounder from Jackson Holliday in the eighth. Then he retired three of four batters in the ninth, securing arguably the biggest of his Major League-leading 35 saves.