Yandy Diaz hit a home run among his three hits and drove in two runs, while Jose Siri made a crucial leaping catch to prevent Gunnar Henderson from hitting a possible go-ahead home run.
The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Baltimore Orioles 7-1 on Saturday, pushing the Orioles out of first place in the AL East.
“I don’t know if I have the words to describe it,” said manager Kevin Cash about Siri’s catch in the fourth inning. “But it was a game-changer for sure.”
Taylor Walls also homered and had two RBIs, helping the Rays even the series and move the Orioles a half-game behind the New York Yankees, who had earlier won against the Chicago Cubs.
Jonny DeLuca added three hits, and Logan Driscoll contributed an RBI single in the seventh inning.
Ryan Pepiot (8-6) gave up just one run in 5 1/3 innings, despite facing nine baserunners.
“We had a good plan going into it,” said Pepiot, who allowed six hits and two walks while striking out four. “When they did get guys on, let one pitch take us to the next one and then get ourselves out of situations.”
Zach Eflin (10-8) gave up three runs in 5 2/3 innings in his second start against his former team since being traded to the Orioles in late July. Cedric Mullins hit his 15th home run to make it 3-1 in the sixth before the Rays added more runs later.
“Just kind of a struggle all around today, honestly,” said Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde. “We wasted opportunities offensively, and we made a mistake defensively and gave up too many runs.”
Diaz’s 14th home run was also his fifth to start a game, and Walls’ solo shot in the third inning helped to double the lead.
Pepiot had already managed to get out of jams in the second and third innings before the Orioles almost rallied in the fourth.
