Orioles rally past Rays with 3 in 9th

June 25th, 2017

ST. PETERSBURG -- Alex Colome normally is money. On Sunday afternoon he wasn't, and the Orioles came away with an 8-5 win over the Rays at Tropicana Field.
The Orioles (37-38) claimed the rubber game over the Rays (40-38) by scoring three against the Rays closer, who entered in the ninth with the score tied at 5.
"This was a really nice win for us," Orioles catcher said of Baltimore's first road series win since April 18-20 against the Reds. "We come from behind. Out to an early lead, couldn't hold it and then really fought. A good rubber match. They're playing good baseball there. Dylan [Bundy] came out yesterday and kind of got us back on track and we tried to carry that into today. We were able to do it."
Joseph singled to start the ninth inning and he moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Pinch hitter Seth Smith was intentionally walked before Joey Rickard hit a ground-rule double to score Joseph as the Orioles bottom-of-the-order came through all day.

"If you miss one pitch, they can [get you]," Colome said. "If I have to pitch tomorrow, I do the same thing."
Colome, who had never faced Rickard, got ahead 0-2 before leaving a ball up. "That's what makes good teams great, it's that we have our star players and our big-name guys and they're going to do their part," Rickard side." But it's nice to help them out once in a while."
• Rickard makes former club pay
Manny Machado was then intentionally walked to load the bases before Colome hit on the hand with a pitch to bring home the Orioles' seventh run. followed with a sacrifice fly to complete the scoring.

"Not the way we wanted to finish out a homestand here," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "We had the opportunity to win two series. Give credit to the Orioles for piecing together some good at-bats late."
singled home two in the second against Rays starter Jake Odorizzi to put the Orioles up 2-0. answered for the Rays with an RBI single in the bottom half of the inning to cut the lead to 2-1.

Joseph homered to the left-field cutout in the fourth to give the Orioles a two-run lead, but the Rays answered with Featherston's sacrifice fly to cut the Orioles' lead to 3-2.
put the Rays on top with a three-run homer off Oriolers starter Chris Tillman in the fifth, giving the Rays a 5-3 lead. But homered off Odorizzi in the sixth and Schoop did likewise against in the eighth to tie the score at 5.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Longoria goes deep: Longoria entered Sunday's game having had success against Tillman, as evidenced by the .302 average, eight home runs and 11 RBIs in 63 at-bats. But the Orioles starter had his number in the early going Sunday, first getting Longoria to hit into a double play, then striking him out. But the third time was the charm. After Tillman fell behind 2-0, Longoria deposited a changeup into the left-field stands for a three-run homer that gave the Rays their first lead at 5-3. More >

Schoop delivers: Whitley took over for the Rays in the eighth, hoping to protect a 5-4 lead and bridge the gap to Colome. Schoop led off the inning and the count reached 2-2 when the Rays right-hander went after Schoop with an 83.2 mph changeup. Schoop swung and connected for his 15th home run of the season to tie the score at 5.
"I went to the pitch I wanted to go to and I don't think it finished like it should have," Whitley said. "So it ended up being a mistake, and he hit it. It was a changeup."

QUOTABLE
"That's how it's been the whole year, just been a grind. I don't feel like at one start this year that I've had my good stuff and it's just something I have to pitch through and keep getting through." -- Odorizzi, on his outing
"Honestly, for us down there at the bottom, that's what we're hoping to do. We were joking about it, saying it's like Spring Training ... we do it every year in Spring Training, so why not do it during the year?" -- Janish, on getting contributions from the bottom of the order
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
The home run Odorizzi surrendered to Joseph extended Odorizzi's streak to 11 consecutive appearances in which he's given up a home run. That tied Odorizzi with Wilson Alvarez for the club record.
's strikeout of Steven Souza Jr. in the seventh inning marked his 500th career strikeout.
UNDER REVIEW
The Rays challenged a hit by pitch call in the eighth when Schoop got hit on the hand with the bases loaded. After a 58-second delay, the call on the field was confirmed.

WHAT'S NEXT
Orioles: The Orioles will enjoy an off-day on Monday before facing Toronto for a three-game set. will get the ball for Tuesday's opener at the Rogers Centre. He made some strides in his last outing against Cleveland, falling one out shy of a quality start. He has recorded an out in the sixth just once in his past five starts..
Rays: After having an off-day on Monday, the Rays begin a three-game series in Pittsburgh against the Pirates. Alex Cobb (6-5, 4.05) will get the nod in the 7:05 p.m. ET contest at PNC Park. Cobb is 2-0 with a 2.29 ERA over his last three starts.
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