Orioles 4, Rays 2
Chris Davis belted his major league-leading 46th homer and Adam Jones recorded two hits, including a solo blast, as host Baltimore salvaged the finale of a three-game series.
Orioles starter Wei-Yin Chen (7-6) allowed two runs and six hits over seven strong innings to end his three-start losing streak. Nate McLouth added a pair of hits and scored a run as Baltimore moved within 5 1/2 games of first-place Boston in the American League East and three behind Oakland for the second AL wild-card spot.
Jose Lobaton and Ben Zobrist had two hits apiece while Jason Bourgeois and Sean Rodriguez each hit solo homers for the Rays, who fell one game behind Boston in the AL East. Tampa Bay starter Jeremy Hellickson (10-7) yielded four runs and seven hits over 4 1/3 innings to lose his fourth consecutive decision.
Jones’ RBI groundout and a long sacrifice fly to center by Matt Wieters gave the Orioles a 2-0 lead in the first before Bourgeois answered with a solo shot in the second. Jones hammered his homer to center field in the third for a 3-1 lead and Rodriguez matched him in the fourth for the Rays.
Davis re-installed the two-run lead by crushing the first pitch he saw from Hellickson way over the right-field wall in the fifth. After the Rays put two runners on in the ninth, Tommy Hunter came on to get the final three outs – the last coming when Wieters threw out Kelly Johnson trying to steal second – for his fourth save.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Davis' homer tied him with Jim Gentile (1961) for third on the Orioles’ all-time list for a single season. Brady Anderson belted 50 in 1996 and Frank Robinson hit 49 in 1966. … Bourgeois’ homer was the third of his career and his first since July 31, 2011 while with Houston. … Wieters has 51 RBIs and 16 homers in 70 career games against the Rays.