The good news came early for the Orioles tonight, as if they were owned a few breaks. The temperature dipped into the mid-70s to provide some relief from the scorching heat. CB Bucknor wouldn’t work the plate in the series, confined instead to the bases for three games. Tomoyuki Sugano struck out the first two batters he faced and retired the Rays in order. Jordan Westburg doubled in the bottom of the first on a 106.6 mph liner that deflected off third baseman Junior Caminero.
And then, the bad times rolled. Westburg dived into the bag and appeared to reinjured his index finger, which led to his removal an inning later with “left hand discomfort,” per the club. The Rays homered three times off Sugano in the second, including Brandon Lowe’s three-run shot.
The cliché about two teams heading in opposite directions unfolded and then paused, with the Orioles playing the opposite role in a big blown lead versus the Rays. They did the rallying this time, along with some major venting, in a preposterous 22-8 victory before an announced crowd of 20,047 at Camden Yards.
Gary Sánchez had four RBIs, including a go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth, Coby Mayo hit his first major league homer - off a shortstop - and also drove in four runs, and the Orioles (35-46) won for the second time in six games. The Rays (46-36) lost for only the fourth time in 14 games.
Westburg missed three games after spraining his finger in New York but avoided the injured list. Jorge Mateo is on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk and didn’t play tonight, and he could be in play if Westburg is out for an extended period.
Back-to-back doubles by Ramón Laureano and Colton Cowser in the fifth preceded Sánchez’s homer off Eric Orze, which gave him 501 career RBIs and the Orioles an 8-7 lead. Cowser finished with a career-high three doubles, the last scoring Ramón Urías in the sixth, and Sánchez followed with a two-run single. Laureano added a two-run single in the seventh, Sánchez reached on a two-out error with the bases loaded and Cedric Mullins walked for a 15-8 lead.
There was more. Much, much more.
A Tampa Bay bullpen with a 3.30 ERA before tonight allowed 10 earned runs and 12 total, including three by Edwin Uceta in the sixth, and that was before shortstop José Caballero made his pitching debut in the ninth and surrendered a two-run homer to Gunnar Henderson, who came within a double of the cycle, Mullins' two-run double and Mayo's two-run shot. Jackson Holliday led off the inning with his 10th home run, again aiming at the bullpen, and he did it against an actual reliever.
The box score shows 18 runs, 16 earned, from the 'pen.
Sugano looked as though he’d fail to complete five innings for the fourth consecutive start, but he made it on 86 pitches and was charged with a major league career-high seven runs and nine hits to increase his ERA to 4.06. Sugano has surrendered a homer in 12 of his 16 outings.
Before tonight, Sugano hadn’t allowed more than four runs in any of his 15 starts, and he permitted three earned runs or fewer in 14. The Rays led 6-0 after the second.
Both teams sent nine batters to the plate in the inning.
Jonathan Aranda and Josh Lowe homered on cutters, the first ball traveling 433 feet to center field and the other 400 feet to right. Danny Jansen had an RBI single after speedster Chandler Simpson’s walk and stolen base, Yandy Díaz singled and Brandon Lowe drove a curveball into the seats in right-center.
The Orioles loaded the bases against Ryan Pepiot with no outs and scored four times. Pepiot didn’t make it out of the inning after holding them to one run over eight frames in Tampa.
Mayo had a two-run double and Urías, pinch-hitting for Westburg, delivered a two-run single. Pepiot was done after Henderson singled, and Mason Montgomery struck out Ryan O’Hearn, who slammed his bat and helmet.
Sugano retired the side in order in the third and the Orioles cut deeper into the lead in the bottom half on Laureano’s walk, Sánchez’s one-out single, and Jansen’s throwing error on Laureano’s stolen base. At this point, the flashbacks to the Orioles’ blown 8-0 lead in Tampa were blinding.
The first two Rays were retired in the fourth before three straight singles, the last by Brandon Lowe, gave them a 7-5 lead. But Sánchez blistered a slider from Orze at 111.7 mph off the bat and an offense that was one-hit twice in a span of five games pounded Tampa Bay pitching for 21 and came within one run of the franchise record.
* Chayce McDermott started for Norfolk tonight and allowed three runs and five hits in four innings. He walked five and struck out five, and his ERA is 7.84.
Levi Wells tossed five scoreless innings with one hit allowed at Double-A Chesapeake and lowered his ERA to 2.91. Tyler O’Neill played right field and went 1-for-3 with a walk.