Rays 3, Orioles 4: Same stuff, different day

On the heels of a four game losing streak, the Rays made the trip back to Tropicana Field to face the Orioles in a battle for sole possession of first place in the division. Tyler Glasnow got the start and faced off against Kyle Gibson.

Like most games this month, the pitching was great and the offense was not.

Glasnow looked untouchable across the first three frames, tossing three scoreless innings, allowing the Rays to jump out to a 1-0 lead. Mejia singled home Josh Lowe in the bottom of the second, extending his hitting streak to five games.

Then, in the fourth inning things quickly fell apart for the Rays. A low line drive glanced off of Walls’ outstretched glove and bounded into left field. Randy Arozarena quickly got to the ball as Gunnar Henderson was racing towards second, but then lazily lobbed the ball back to Taylor Walls who wasn't covering third base. Henderson took advantage of the lack of urgency and turned a double into a triple.

With the infield playing in, Rutschman singled on what would have been a routine ground ball had Brandon Lowe been playing back with a runner on second. Henderson scored to tie the game.

Santander quickly followed with a single and a wild pitch allowed both runners to move into scoring position. Both runs would eventually score and the Orioles would take a 3-1 lead.

That would be it for the Orioles in regulation as Glasnow settled back in and went seven strong innings, his longest outing of the year. He struck out nine, walked none, and allowed two earned runs (three runs total) on six total hits.

The Rays bats would remain quiet until the seventh inning when Yandy Diaz delivered a two-run, game tying double.

The score would remain tied at 3-3 as both bullpens were great, sending the game to extra innings.

In the top of the tenth, the Orioles converted their free baserunner into a run after a sacrifice bunt and sacrifice fly. The Orioles would carry a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the 10th.

Felix Bautista retuned to the mound for his second inning of work and quickly drilled Luke Raley to put the winning run on base. Randy Arozarena came to the plate with a chance to send the Rays home with a win. Instead, he struck out for the fourth time putting an end to his frustrating night. Then, Brandon Lowe hit into a game ending double play.

The loss was the Rays fifth consecutive. On the night, they went 2-14 with runners in scoring position. And, for the first time this season, they are looking up at someone in the standings.