BALTIMORE -- The Orioles were three outs away from becoming the victims of the first combined perfect game in baseball history. The Rays’ Ryne Stanek opened with two perfect innings before yielding to Ryan Yarbrough, who followed with six more before Hanser Alberto led off the ninth by tapping a single to right field against the shift in Baltimore's 4-1 loss on Sunday at Oriole Park.

Stevie Wilkerson followed Alberto with a single before Yarbrough struck out Chance Sisco. Oliver Drake came on to retire Jonathan Villar but allowed an RBI single to Anthony Santander. Emilio Pagan then retired Trey Mancini to end it.

• Box score

“You’re just hoping somebody gets a hit,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “You’re sitting there watching and you’re hoping. I saw a little frustration from our guys today toward later on in the game, which I think is OK. They were showing some emotion about, they don’t want to be embarrassed, so yeah, you’re just hoping and wishing that somebody’s going to get a hit.”

Before the ninth, the Orioles couldn't manage anything close to a hit.

“I mean, we lost the game,” Hyde said. “I thought they did a really nice job. I thought Stanek was just dominating. I thought Yarbrough, that was the best I’ve ever seen him. I didn’t think our at-bats were real good, so that’s what I was thinking about for the majority of the game. They put a clinic on how to pitch inside and be able to use off-speed stuff to chase, and we just kept chasing the ball.

“I don’t know how many times we got jammed early in the count. But for me, that’s not competitive when that continues to happen. So then you’re just hoping we get a hit somewhere down the line, and Alberto got one through the shift.”

Alberto had flied to left and grounded to third in his previous at-bats against Yarbrough.

“I was trying to get a jam to get a ground ball to second base,” Alberto said. “Finally I get something in the middle. I get jammed, and get a ground ball base hit.”

Tom Eshelman, who was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday, allowed four runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out seven, but his performance was overshadowed.

“I’m not going to lie,” Eshelman said. “I’m really happy we broke it up.”