BALTIMORE โ In a thrilling display of resilience, the Baltimore Orioles overcame a daunting six-run deficit to overpower the Tampa Bay Rays 22-8 during Friday nightโs game.
Gary Sanchez played a pivotal role in this remarkable comeback, smashing a home run and allying with teammates to drive in four runs. Meanwhile, Ramรณn Laureano was a whirlwind on the field, scoring four times for the Orioles. This startling reversal echoed a similar comeback by Tampa Bay against Baltimore, where the Rays had previously overturned an 8-0 deficit to triumph 12-8.
The Rays took an early lead, notching six runs in the second inning. Home runs from Jonathan Aranda, Josh Lowe, and Brandon Lowe set the pace, although Tampa Bayโs starter, Ryan Pepiot, was unable to withstand the Oriolesโ pressure through the bottom half of the inning. Baltimore responded fiercely, adding four runs in the second inning and another in the third.
By the sixth inning, the Rays had a slender lead at 7-6. However, Sanchez shifted momentum with his two-run homer off Eric Orze, putting the Orioles ahead. Colton Cowser solidified this lead with his third double of the game, which drove in yet another run in the sixth. Sanchez followed closely on his triumphant path with a two-run single, widening the gap to 11-7.
The seventh inning saw Laureano advance Baltimoreโs advantage further with a two-run single. Jackson Holliday joined the action in the eighth inning, sending a solo homer into the stands to extend the lead to 16-8. In an unexpected move, the Rays brought infielder Josรฉ Caballero to pitch, but his efforts were thwarted, allowing Baltimore to rack up six additional runs. Gunnar Henderson capitalized on Caballeroโs inexperience, hitting his fourth hit of the game.
Sanchez concluded his night with an impressive total of four hits. Overall, the Orioles displayed formidable batting prowess with 21 hits as a team. The final push came from Coby Mayo, who celebrated his first career home run with a two-run contribution off Caballero.
On the pitching front, Baltimoreโs Tomoyuki Sugano endured a challenging outing, permitting seven runs over five innings. Prior to this game, the rookie maintained an admirable streak of limiting opponents to four runs or fewer in his initial 15 starts.
Entering the game, Pepiot flaunted a 12-game record of maintaining three or fewer runs, coming fresh from Tampa Bayโs sweep of Kansas City, where their defense conceded a mere run across three matches.
A crucial twist in the game unfolded when Laureano and Cowser initiated the bottom of the fifth inning with back-to-back doubles, reducing Baltimoreโs deficit to a mere one run. This set the stage for Sanchezโs game-changing homer over the left-center field wall.
Baltimore narrowly missed setting a new team record for runs in a game since they moved to the city. They fell just one shy, with the current record standing at their 23-1 victory over Toronto on September 28, 2000.
Next, the Orioles will have Zach Eflin (6-4) take the mound against his former team on Saturday, while the Rays will counter with Zack Littell (6-7) to change their fortunes in this riveting series.