Baltimore OriolesvsTampa Bay Rays
BAL 6/TB 5
Things to say
The Orioles beat the Rays 6-5 in Tampa on Thursday.
01
opener
O's snuck out of the Trop with a 6-5 win. Baltimore's way under .500 and Tampa's one of the best teams in the league, so that's a nice little getaway-day steal.
02
key player
Whoever was hitting in the heart of that Orioles order came to play. You put up six on a Rays staff on the road, somebody left the yard.
03
hot take
Rays are 74-47 and they're still losing games like this. Tampa's pitching depth is thinner than the record makes it look.
04
deep cut
One-run game in that ballpark usually comes down to the pen. Feels like a manager went to the bullpen a hair too early and it bit him.
05
exit
Anyway, Baltimore's still buried in the standings — I just want to see if they can actually take the series before I get excited.
The recap
The Orioles snuck into the Trop and stole one, 6-5, knocking off the Rays despite Tampa Bay sitting pretty at 74-47. This was a scrappy back-and-forth where Baltimore, playing well under .500, refused to go quietly and found a way to edge the heart of a much better division rival.
The bullpen had to lock down that one-run lead late, and they slammed the door. Getaway-day upset for the O's, and the Rays let one slip that they probably felt they should've had.