Orioles strengthen Wild Card position with 3rd straight win vs. AL-best Rays

ST. PETERSBURG -- All of a sudden, everything is trending upward for the Baltimore Orioles. All it took was a trip down to Tropicana Field to face the top team in the American League, which also happened to enter the weekend as MLB’s hottest squad.

The O’s continued their strong weekend in St. Petersburg on Sunday afternoon, cruising to a 10-2 win over the Rays. Baltimore (61-63) will have a chance for a four-game sweep over its AL East rivals on Monday night, as well as an opportunity to improve to only one game below .500 for the first time since April 30.

Tampa Bay (74-49) had won nine straight games before the Orioles came to town Friday.

“We go out there and beat a good team three nights in a row, I don’t think it’s much of a fluke,” said Jackson Holliday, who tallied two hits and three RBIs. “We have a really good team, and we’re going out there and showing it.”

This has been a needed turnaround by the O’s, whose three-city road trip wasn’t going well before an off-day this past Thursday. They dropped two of three games at both Texas and Minnesota, and their AL Wild Card odds were worsening. Now, they’re right in the thick of a crowded race and tied with the Rangers for the third AL Wild Card spot (pending the result of Sunday’s Texas-A’s game).

“Obviously, the Rays coming in, best record in baseball, coming off a nine-game heater on the road, West Coast road trip, which is really impressive to do,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “For us, we really believe we can play with anyone. You have to believe that, and I truly believe that, and the guys in that room believe it, most importantly.”

The most impressive part of Sunday’s victory was a seven-run rally in the sixth, the Orioles’ biggest inning of the season. Baltimore held a 3-1 lead entering the frame after plating three runs in the fifth on Holliday’s game-tying two-out RBI single and Pete Alonso’s go-ahead two-run double.

Rays left-hander Steven Matz began the sixth by getting Christian Encarnacion-Strand to line out to third base and getting Dylan Beavers to ground out to shortstop. But then, a two-out rally ensued with a string of at-bats that may have been the Orioles’ best of the year.

Here’s what transpired after Beavers’ groundout:

• Leody Taveras singled to right field
• Colton Cowser hit a two-run home run to right-center (O’s lead 5-1)
• Coby Mayo singled to center
• Yohel Pozo drew an eight-pitch walk
• Holliday hit a two-run double to right-center (O’s lead 7-1)
• (The Rays replaced Matz with right-hander Joe Boyle)
• Alonso drew a 10-pitch walk
• Gunnar Henderson drew a 10-pitch walk
• Encarnacion-Strand hit a three-run double to left (O’s lead 10-1)
• Beavers strikes out looking to end the inning

Matz and Boyle combined to throw 59 pitches, the fifth most in an inning in MLB this season. It was the most pitches the Orioles have seen in an inning since they saw 69 during a nine-run eighth in a 9-8 win over the Royals on Sept. 8, 2021.

Cowser’s homer was the first of his 11 this season to come off a left-hander. Holliday, a fellow left-handed hitter, recorded left-on-left knocks in consecutive innings across the fifth and sixth.

It was the first time Baltimore plated seven or more runs in an inning since a nine-run seventh during an 18-0 win over Colorado on July 26, 2025.

“Just going up there for your teammates more so than yourself and trying to get the job done, kind of the gritty kind of at-bats that it takes to win games, especially against teams like that, because you know they’re going to do that,” Holliday said. “And I think that’s what makes really good teams.”

It’s quite remarkable that the Orioles have withstood adversity well enough this season to still be in postseason contention. They didn’t have a winning month until July (when they went 15-8), then still sold at the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline, moving catcher Adley Rutschman (Red Sox), outfielder Taylor Ward (Mariners) and right-handers Dean Kremer (Twins) and Tyler Wells (Rays).

Why does Albernaz think his team has stayed upbeat and remained in the fight?

“Our guys do a great job of being resilient and rolling with the punches and keep on going,” Albernaz said. “There's a lot of belief in that room -- whoever's in that room.”

There’s also a belief from the O’s that they can keep this momentum going.

“We’ve got one more [vs. the Rays] tomorrow, and we’re not going to let up,” said left-hander Trevor Rogers, who allowed two runs in six innings. “We know what’s at stake. We have a month and a half of baseball left, and we’re right there. We’ve just got to keep fighting, believing in each other and good things will happen.”