BALTIMORE -- The Rays stuck to a familiar script in their 4-3 win over the Orioles on Saturday night at Camden Yards.
Late-inning rallies? Two of them -- one in the seventh keyed by pinch-hit RBIs from Austin Meadows and Joey Wendle, then another in the eighth. No team has been more effective after the sixth inning this season than the Rays, who have scored 260 of their 684 runs in the seventh inning or later.
A Randy Arozarena home run? Check. The American League Rookie of the Year candidate continued his season-long dominance of Baltimore’s pitching staff with a go-ahead two-run homer off the top of the right-field wall in the eighth, his eighth of the year against the Orioles.
Another come-from-behind win? Yep. Tampa Bay leads the Majors with 40 comeback victories this season, and 10 of them have come at Baltimore’s expense. The way the Rays’ season has gone, it’s almost more of a surprise when they don’t rally back.
“We’d certainly rather be in the lead. You never want to have to come from behind, obviously,” Wendle said. “At this point, we have so many come-from-behind wins that there is a little bit of a feeling of that, and we do have confidence in our chances of winning even if we’re down heading into the late innings.”
If the story that played out in the final three innings of Saturday’s game seems familiar to you, imagine how the Orioles must feel at this point. The Rays are 17-1 against Baltimore this season, have won 11 straight matchups heading into Sunday’s season-series finale and have outscored the Orioles, 51-12, in the seventh inning or later.
Overall, Tampa Bay has won six straight games and 17 of its last 21 to improve to 81-48 on the year. Combined with the 76-53 Yankees’ loss on Saturday, which ended a 13-game winning streak, the Rays’ latest win pushed their lead in the AL East back to five games with 33 left to play. They are now 33 games over .500 for the first time since Sept. 25, 2008, and one shy of the franchise’s high-water mark.
“We're a very aggressive team, and we never stop until that last out is made,” Arozarena said through interpreter Manny Navarro. “We're a very dedicated team, and we're out here to win every single time so that we can make our way into the playoffs.”
Despite a solid 4 1/3-inning start by Michael Wacha, the Rays found themselves down 3-0 and unable to get anything going against Orioles starter John Means after six innings. But when the seventh inning rolled around, as usual, their lineup found another gear.
Yandy Díaz slapped a single up the middle with one out, then Brandon Lowe ripped a double down the right-field line. Out went Means and in came right-hander Dillon Tate, allowing Rays manager Kevin Cash to utilize his left-handed-hitting bench players. Tampa Bay’s deep, flexible roster gives Cash the ability to capitalize on advantageous matchups late in games, one reason the Rays have had so much success scoring in the final few innings this season.
It played out again in the seventh on Saturday. Meadows scored Díaz on a groundout, and Wendle followed with a pinch-hit double to make it a one-run game.
“I think it has to do with the confidence we have in each other and kind of the way our lineup is built,” said Wendle, who continued to help the Rays’ cause off the bench with a diving stop and a strong throw in the seventh. “We oftentimes get good matchups late in games because of the way our roster’s built and the flexibility we have there. That certainly helps us out a lot.
“I’ve said it once, and I’ll continue to say it: Any day, it could be any player on our team.”
Against the Orioles, though, it’s often Arozarena. He has hit safely in each of his 12 games while batting .453 (24-for-53) against Baltimore this season. His go-ahead opposite-field shot off Cole Sulser in the eighth inning set a Rays single-season record for most home runs against the O’s, breaking a tie with Ben Zobrist.
“He's got to be right at the top of Rookie of the Year consideration. I think Randy has done a tremendous job this year,” Cash said. “For whatever reason, he's gotten some big hits against Baltimore -- maybe none bigger than that one.”
Arozarena didn’t make too much of his tear against the Orioles, calling it “just a coincidence.” They’ve seen enough to know otherwise, though.
“We just don’t pitch well against him,” Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said. “His numbers against everyone else aren’t really what they are against us. … He’s hurt us, and he hurt us again tonight.”
It would’ve been unrealistic to expect Arozarena to match what he did during his record-setting run through October last year, but he is almost quietly putting together a fine season. He’s batting .272 with an .806 OPS to go along with 17 homers and 57 RBIs, and he has settled into a nice groove as Tampa Bay’s leadoff man against left-handed starters.
Arozarena seems less concerned with his individual accolades and statistics, however, and more focused on piling up more wins like Saturday night’s.
“I think I'm having a good season. I actually think some of my numbers probably should be a little bit better, but I try to go out there and play hard every day,” he said. “The main goal is to win. Our team's in first place, and we want to get as far as we can.”