Orioles 2, Rays 1
BALTIMORE -- J.J. Hardy singled with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Baltimore Orioles a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night.
The Rays (24-25) have lost six straight games and continued to struggle on offense, as they have most of the season, but nearly put together a winning rally in the ninth against right-hander Darren O'Day (1-0).
Tampa Bay loaded the bases with no outs before O'Day rebounded to strike out two and get first baseman Jake Elmore to ground into an inning-ending force play.
The Orioles (23-24) finished the job in the bottom of the ninth.
Right fielder Travis Snider led off with an infield single against right-hander Brandon Gomes (1-2). Pinch-runner Everth Cabrera replaced Snider and moved to third when first baseman Chris Davis greeted left-hander Xavier Cedeno with a single to right. Right-hander Steve Geltz entered to face Hardy and the shortstop lined his winning single to left on a 1-0 pitch.
That was Baltimore's only lead of the night.
Right fielder Steven Souza Jr. hit a second-inning solo homer that gave the Rays a 1-0 lead they held for four innings.
Rays starter Nathan Karns limited the Orioles to one hit through six innings, but Davis tied the score in the seventh with a solo homer to right off right-hander Kevin Jepsen.
Karns, who has allowed two runs or less in his last six starts, gave up one hit in six innings and struck out seven with two walks, permitting just one runner to get into scoring position. But he ended up with a no-decision.
Orioles starter Miguel Gonzalez also came up empty despite his best start this season. The right-hander gave up one run and three hits in eight innings but didn't get a decision
The Rays took a 1-0 lead when Souza hit a two-out homer in the top of the second. He had not been in the starting lineup since spraining his left wrist last Saturday.
Baltimore could not get a hit until the fourth when Snider lined a leadoff single. Davis added a two-out walk, but Karns ended the inning with a strikeout of Hardy.
NOTES: Orioles manager Buck Showalter said that, if everything holds, C Matt Wieters will return to the lineup next Friday. Wieters is rehabilitating from Tommy John surgery last year and has not played for the Orioles since May 10, 2014. He'll still play a few more rehab games before joining the Orioles next week. ... The Orioles' victory on Thursday gave Showalter 1,281 for his career, tying him with Hall of Famer Whitey Herzog for 35th on the all-time list. Showalter had 399 wins with the Orioles heading into the Friday night game. ... SS Asdrubal Cabrera made his first start for the Rays since last Sunday after being sidelined with a mild left groin strain. ... Rays RF Steven Souza Jr. also returned from an injury. He left Sunday's game against the Oakland Athletics with a sprained left wrist and has not started or played since.