Curtis Mead delivered a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, helping the Tampa Bay Rays avoid a three-game sweep by defeating the Baltimore Orioles 2-1 on Sunday.
Anthony Santander hit his 35th home run, and Albert Suárez pitched a career-high 6 2/3 scoreless innings, giving up four hits. The Orioles now share the top spot in the AL East with the New York Yankees.
“We stay positive as a team,” Suárez said. “We won the series.”
Suárez was making his second start in place of the injured Grayson Rodriguez, who will be out until at least September due to a mild shoulder strain.
“Great performance,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “He gave us a great chance to win.”
In the eighth inning, Brandon Lowe walked to start the inning against struggling reliever Craig Kimbrel (6-4) and stole second base with one out. Christopher Morel also walked, and the Rays executed a double steal. Josh Lowe was intentionally walked to load the bases, and Mead then hit a sacrifice fly to give the Rays a 2-1 lead.
Kimbrel, who is fifth all-time in saves with 440, did not pitch the ninth inning for the fourth straight appearance after struggling with a 13.50 ERA in late July.
“The leadoff walk didn’t help, and we need to be better at holding runners,” Hyde said.
The Rays stole a club-tying four bases during the eighth inning.
“We won because B-Lowe was ready to take advantage of Kimbrel once he reached first and then second, and picked the right pitch to get to third,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “When hits are hard to come by, sometimes you need to use these tactics.”
Baltimore has a strong record of 8-2, including 6-1 on the road, against Tampa Bay.
Manuel Rodríguez (2-2) got through the top of the eighth after Gunnar Henderson’s one-out double, and Pete Fairbanks recorded the last three outs for his 23rd save in 25 chances.
Henderson had his second consecutive three-hit game, making it 14 times this season he has achieved that feat.
