Orioles 9, Rays 1
Delmon Young, J.J. Hardy and Chris Davis hit home runs in consecutive at-bats to highlight a six-run fifth inning as Baltimore pulled away from visiting Tampa Bay in the opener of a four-game series.
Young went 3-for-3 with a walk, including his three-run blast, while Nick Markakis and Steve Pearce belted back-to-back homers in the third inning for the Orioles. Chris Tillman (11-5) allowed one unearned run and three hits over seven innings to extend his unbeaten streak to eight starts as Baltimore snapped a three-game losing streak.
Pearce, Adam Jones and Jonathan Schoop added two hits apiece for Baltimore, which remained six games ahead of the second-place New York Yankees in the American League East. The Orioles teed off on Tampa Bay starter Jake Odorizzi (9-11), who gave up career highs in runs (eight) and hits (11) in four-plus innings.
Yunel Escobar singled to lead off the third inning and later scored on a double-play grounder for the Rays, but Baltimore answered quickly in the bottom of the frame. Markakis snapped an 0-for-21 slump with a two-run shot into the right-field seats and Pearce followed by launching a solo blast to left for a 3-1 lead.
Consecutive singles by Pearce, Jones and Nelson Cruz, along with an error, brought home the first run in the fifth before Young homered into the left-field seats. Hardy followed with a liner over the center-field fence to end Odorizzi’s night and Davis hammered a 2-0 pitch from Kirby Yates out to center.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Jones leaped to rob Rays 3B Evan Longoria of a three-run homer at the center-field fence in the sixth inning and threw out OF Matt Joyce trying to move up to second on the play. … Pearce extended his hitting streak to eight games to match his career high set in 2012 and has hit four homers against Tampa Bay this season. … Tampa Bay OF Kevin Kiermaier sat out the game with a stiff neck sustained during a head-first slide in Toronto on Sunday.