Rays start putting June swoon behind them

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays were glad to see the calendar flip to July.

After going 13-16 in June, Tampa Bay opened July with a 6-3 win over Baltimore on Monday at Tropicana Field, powered by a three-run home run from Kevin Kiermaier in the sixth inning off Orioles reliever Branden Kline.

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“That had the looks of potentially being a really frustrating game,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “We’d like to get more than two runs [in the first inning], obviously. That one inning where they came back, it was really encouraging to see our guys bounce right back and the first two guys get on and KK does his thing.”

The Rays have struggled to get off to an early lead over the past couple of weeks, which has coincided with their recent struggles, but the Tampa Bay offense was able to get to Tom Eshelman in the first inning of Monday’s game. Eshelman, who was making his Major League debut, allowed two runs in the first but was able to settle down, limiting the Rays to just the two runs over five innings of work.

As Eshelman settled in on the mound, the Orioles' offense scored two in the sixth inning to take a 3-2 lead against Chaz Roe and the Rays' bullpen. Brandon Lowe made a tremendous diving grab to keep the deficit at one run, but for a second, it looked like the Rays were headed for another tough loss, similar to those that haunted them over the past month.

But the Rays answered right back in the bottom half. Ji-Man Choi led off with a walk, and Avisail Garcia followed with a single to center field to set the stage for Kiermaier, who connected on his 10th home run, a projected 417-foot shot to straightaway center field. Choi added some breathing room with an RBI single in the seventh inning to give the Rays a 6-3 lead.

“That was about as good as I can hit one to center,” Kiermaier said. “I was kind of unhappy to have the lead taken away from us, so [I was] playing with an attitude from that point on. I wanted to be on time, and I didn’t want to miss it. Fortunately, I got a good pitch to hit and backspinned it well.”

Ryan Yarbrough, who was pitching on three days' rest, allowed one run over three innings of work. While Roe struggled Monday, Oliver Drake, Emilio Pagan and Jose Alvarado were able to keep the Orioles off the board after the Rays took the lead.

“He looked good, that was encouraging,” Cash said, when asked about Alvarado. “I thought that was another step in the right direction.”

Monday’s win was a good way to start a pivotal week for the Rays heading into the All-Star break. The next six games against Baltimore and New York will be important for the Rays, and it’ll play a role in just how active they will be in the trade market. With the win, the Rays now hold a three-game lead in the American League Wild Card race and are 6 1/2 games behind the Yankees in the AL East.

“We have six games left for the first half, and we want to hold our heads high heading into the break,” Kiermaier said. “Definitely get clicking on all cylinders within the week and feel good about ourselves, get our rest and come back ready to do some damage again. Right now, it’s about taking it one game at a time. We are going to go out here and try and beat the Orioles tomorrow.”