Ladies and gentlemen of the baseball world, let me present to you the AL East Division leader, the Baltimore Orioles.
Facing the once invincible Tampa Bay Rays, the Orioles showed the AL East and the rest of Major League Baseball that there is a new powerhouse to pay attention to.
The Orioles not only won their four-game series from The Trop, three games to one, they took over soul possession of first place and sent the Rays to their 14th loss in their last 19 games.
With gritty pitching performances, key plays defensively and some of the grittiest performances from the O’s big acquisition Ryan O’Hearn and from All-Star closer Félix Bautisa (one win and two saves) that Birdland has seen in his two years in the league.
Let’s take a look at how the series unfolded.
GAME 1: O’s 4, TB 3 – 10 INNINGS
What a way to open a series, as the Orioles jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning of game one. Gunnar Henderson started the inning off by tripling, moving to third on a lazy throw by Randy Arozarena.
Adley Rutschman followed with an RBI single. A sacrifice fly from Ryan O’Hearn and a single by Aaron Hicks closed out the scoring for the Birds.
Kyle Gibson pitched six strong innings to keep the Orioles in charge. He was charged with three earned runs, two came on an RBI double allowed by Yennier Canó (BS, 4). Canó would recover and pitch 1.1 innings before being relieved by Bryan Baker for 0.2 innings.
With the game tied, O’s manager Brandon Hyde turned to Félix Bautista to keep the game in check. After throwing 12 pitches the night before, Bautista followed that up with nine pitches to end the ninth and give the fans free baseball.
A beautiful sacrifice bunt by Adam Frazier moved Hicks to third, and rookie sensation Colton Cowser would hit a sacrifice fly for a 4-3 lead.
Bautista (5-1) came back out for the 10th and promptly hit Luke Raley. Arozarena struck out (his fourth of the game) before Brandon Lowe grounded into a double play to end the game and secure the O’s 4-3 victory.
GAME 2: O’s 0, TB 3
You can’t get much better than what Kyle Bradish has been doing all season long. In 16 of his 18 games, he has allowed three runs or less and leads Oriole starters with a 3.05 ERA.
Bradish (6-5) would pitch six strong innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits, as he would strike out five in the game. Unfortunately, he would pick up the loss in this one.
The O’s offense was held to just two hits, a Ryan O’Hearn single and Ryan Mountcastle double. The Birds struck out 14 times on the day, as Zach Eflin (11-5) would stymy the lineup. The Orioles would drop the game 3-0 and move back into a tie for first place.
GAME 3: O’s 6, TB 5
Grayson Rodriguez is starting to look the part. In his second start since returning to the bigs, Rodriguez would pitch into the sixth inning, his second straight game of at least five innings of work.
Though he didn’t factor into the decision, Rodriguez would pitch 5.2 innings, allowing only three hits and two walks. He gave up two earned runs and struck out six in the game and would leave with the Orioles up, 5-2 thanks to clutch RBI doubles from James McCann and Jorge Mateo.
Though Danny Coulombe (H, 17) would give up a run, he and Canó (H, 23) kept the lead at 5-3. Unfortunately, the newly acquired Shintaro Fujinami (BS, 2) would give up two runs (walked two and threw 10 of his first 12 pitches for balls) to allow the Rays to tie the game.
Cionel Pérez (3-1) would close the inning, which set up the ninth for the offense to try and win the game.
Once again, the Orioles reverted to small ball to take over. Frazier would lead off with a single to left field and move to second on James McCann’s wild sacrifice bunt. O’Hearn would pinch hit for Mateo and drive in the winning run with a single to right field, giving the O’s a 6-5 lead.
Enter “The Mountain,” and that was all she wrote. Bautista (SV, 27) would strike out two in lowering his ERA to 0.94 and his WHIP to 0.86 to close the game. The Orioles would win 6-5 and take over first place once more.
GAME 4: O’s 5, TB 3
On a day when Tyler Wells was uncharacteristically wild, four walks and two hit batters, the Orioles had to pick up their starter. Wells would allow just one hit, a two-run home run to Yandy Díaz, but would allow three earned runs in his outing.
Still, the Orioles would jump out to a 3-0 lead as Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman took charge early. Henderson would lead off with a double and score on Rutschman’s RBI two-bagger. Henderson then followed that up by blasting a 446-ft two-run home run.
The Rays would race back, but the Oriole bullpen went into lockdown mode once again. Mike Baumann (7-0) would relieve Wells and pitch 2.2 innings of shutout ball. Canó (H, 24) and Bautista (SV, 28) would end any chance the Rays had of coming back.
A solo home run from O’Hearn (8) off the left field foul pole in the sixth gave the Orioles a 4-3 lead, and Anthony Santander drove in a run in the seventh to end the scoring for the game.
The Orioles would win the game 5-3, take the series 3-1 and move two games ahead of the Rays in the AL East as the new division leader.
BATTERY ❌-FACTOR
In one of the biggest series to date, the Baltimore Orioles showed up and showed out. The BATTERY ❌-FACTOR was how the Orioles would respond to the pressure of the series with national attention.
The O’s resoundingly stood tall and battered the Rays any chance momentum changed. From comeback wins to dog fights, the Orioles exposed Tampa Bay’s flaws with standout defense, timely pitching and taking charge in key moments.
Between Félix Bautista’s dominance, Ryan O’Hearn’s clutch hitting and Gunnar Henderson catching fire, along with many other unsung heroes, the Birds showed that they are here to play and will not back down from any challenge. Brandon Hyde managed his best series as the Orioles’ skipper, and it all helped to secure the series victory and first place.
The Orioles have little time to enjoy their newfound position, as they will head to Philadelphia to take on Bryce Harper and the rest of the Philadelphia Phillies starting tomorrow. First pitch is slated for 6:40 p.m. EST.
Will the Orioles defend their top position, or will the Phillies spoil the party? Tune in tomorrow for the next series in Baltimore’s exciting season.
What do you think of this series victory over Tampa Bay? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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