Tampa Bay clawed back with three runs in the ninth, but it wasn't enough. The Baltimore Orioles escaped Tropicana Field with a 6-5 win, riding a go-ahead rally in the seventh and a two-run homer in the eighth before holding on as the Rays made things uncomfortable in the final frame.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAL | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 0 |
| TB | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 0 |
Gunnar Henderson carried the offense all night, finishing 4-for-4 with a double, a home run and 2 RBIs. His eighth-inning blast to right center, a 400-foot shot that scored O'Neill alongside him, pushed the score to 6-2 and gave Baltimore the cushion it would eventually need. Colton Cowser also went deep, a 420-foot homer to center in the third that briefly put the Orioles back in front.
The turning point came in the seventh. With the game tied at 2-2, Dylan Beavers singled to right, and both Henderson and Taveras scored on the play while Jackson was thrown out trying to reach third. That two-run single put Baltimore ahead 4-2 for good. Earlier, the teams had traded leads twice: Encarnacion-Strand's sacrifice fly brought home O'Neill in the second, only for Palacios to double home Hicks and tie it, and Cowser's third-inning homer was answered by a Mesa Jr. single that scored Caminero to tie it again at 2-2.
Tampa Bay starter Steven Matz was sharp in his lone inning of work, allowing nothing across 1.0 innings with a strikeout, but the bullpen could not hold the line. Garrett Cleavinger surrendered 2 runs on 2 hits in just 0.1 innings and took the loss, falling to 4-4 on the season with a 3.75 ERA. In the ninth, the Rays showed life: Aranda's single to right scored both Palacios and Walls, and Caminero grounded out to third to score Mateo, pulling Tampa Bay within one run before Baltimore closed it out. Chris Bassitt started for the Orioles and allowed 2 runs (2 earned) over 5.1 innings, striking out three, without factoring into the decision. Josh Walker picked up his first win of the season after 0.2 scoreless innings, and Cam Sanders recorded his second save.
Baltimore improved to 59-63 with the win, snapping a slide and moving to 5th in its division, while Tampa Bay fell to 74-47 and saw a one-game losing streak continue despite sitting atop its division.