No Sweep For You: Rays 7, Orioles 6

A king can get knocked around. It can lose three straight games at home. It can even trail by two runs in the seventh inning with a four-game sweep creeping closer.

But, as D’Angelo Barksdale once explained on The Wire, “The king stay the king, aight.”

Jonny DeLuca helped the Rays remain atop the American League East, grounding a pinch-hit, two-run single into left field to complete a 7-6 comeback victory over the Orioles.

Getting there required Tampa Bay to overcome three separate deficits and another night in which Baltimore’s lineup kept finding the seats.

Shane McClanahan made his first start as he returned from the injured list with mid-back tightness and opened with a clean first inning. Yandy Díaz walked in the bottom half and advanced to second on Jonathan Aranda’s fly ball, but Gunnar Henderson’s glove made the next two outs to leave him there.

Coby Mayo provided Baltimore’s first lead in the second by sending a McClanahan fastball deep into the left-center-field seats. The ball left his bat at 114.2 mph and traveled 468 feet, which is generally enough distance to remove any suspense about whether an outfielder has a play. McClanahan recovered to retire the next three hitters, including a strikeout of Jeremiah Jackson.

Tampa Bay responded to even the score in the bottom of the second when Cedric Mullins reached on a bunt single and advanced to second on Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s throwing error. Richie Palacios flew out to end the inning.

The Orioles threatened again in the third after Christian Franklin singled and stole second. McClanahan stranded him by striking out Tyler O’Neill and getting Pete Alonso to fly out.

Yandy Díaz tied the game in the bottom half, driving Brandon Young’s 2-2 pitch into right-center field for his 18th home run. Aranda followed with a double that was just inches away from being back-to-back homers and reached third on Junior Caminero’s groundout, but Liam Hicks struck out to leave the go-ahead run 90 feet away.

Baltimore made that missed opportunity matter in the fourth.

Jackson Holliday opened with a single, and Mayo followed with a double to put two runners in scoring position. McClanahan struck out Gunnar Henderson before Kevin Cash turned to Casey Legumina. Encarnacion-Strand greeted the reliever with a ground-ball single through the middle, scoring both runners for a 3-1 Orioles lead.

McClanahan was charged with three runs on four hits over 3.1 innings. He struck out three without issuing a walk in his first appearance since July 30.

No lead was safe Monday night.

The Rays quickly turned the game around against Young. Chandler Simpson led off the fourth with a bunt single but was caught stealing after a replay review upheld the call and denied a Rays challenge that Ryan Vilade was hit by pitch. Vilade made the lost challenge and baserunner sting Later in the inning, Jorge Mateo then drove a two-strike pitch over the left-center-field wall for his first home run as a Ray, giving Tampa Bay a 4-3 lead.

It did not last long.

Tyler Wells entered for the fifth and watched Alonso send a pitch over the right-field wall to tie the game. Wells retired the next two hitters, but Henderson singled before Encarnacion-Strand lifted a two-run homer to left. His second run-producing hit of the night put Baltimore back in front, 6-4.

Lead taken, lead lost.

Tampa Bay went quietly in the fifth and sixth while Kevin Kelly worked around consecutive two-out singles to keep the deficit at two. Cam Booser did the same in the seventh, striking out three Orioles around a Henderson double.

Then the Rays finally built a rally without needing the ball to leave the park.

Taylor Walls opened the bottom of the seventh with an infield single, and Díaz was hit by a pitch. Aranda lined a single into left to score Walls before Caminero’s soft infield hit loaded the bases with nobody out only trailing by a run.

Baltimore replaced Yennier Cano with Josh Walker. Tampa Bay countered with DeLuca, who entered the night hitless in his previous 11 at-bats.

DeLuca fell behind 1-2 before working the count even. He then hit a chopper than bounced over the infield and into left field, scoring Díaz with the tying run and Aranda with the go-ahead run. Five consecutive Rays had reached, and a 6-4 deficit had become a 7-6 lead.

Holding it required one more escape.

Carlos Narváez walked to begin the eighth, advanced on a wild pitch and reached third on O’Neill’s single. Bryan Baker replaced Booser with runners at the corners and one out. He struck out Alonso on a foul tip before Holliday grounded to Taylor Walls, who handled the force play at second to end the inning.

The Rays could not add insurance in the bottom half after Palacios walked and stole second, leaving Baker with the same one-run margin in the ninth.

Mayo popped out, and Henderson grounded out before Encarnacion-Strand extended the game with a two-out single. Baker responded by striking out Leody Taveras on a foul tip to earn his 35th save.

Tampa Bay still avoided the sweep, ended a four-game home losing streak and snapped a six-game skid against Baltimore. The Rays are back at it tomorrow at home to open a series against the Toronto Blue Jays at 6:40pm.