Rays at Orioles
After watching an eighth-inning comeback bid fall short in the opener of their four-game set with the Tampa Bay Rays, the Baltimore Orioles finished the job one day later to maintain their grip on a potential postseason berth. The Orioles hope to avoid the need for yet another rally and attempt to prolong their season-long domination of the Rays on Saturday when the American League East rivals continue their series in Baltimore.
The Orioles surrendered three first-inning runs and seven over the first four innings in Thursday's 7-6 setback to Tampa Bay, creating just enough of a hole that eighth-inning RBIs from J.J. Hardy and Michael Bourn couldn't complete the rally. Baltimore fell behind by four runs early Friday as well before eighth-inning RBIs from Hardy and Bourn capped a five-run comeback and proved to be the difference this time around, helping the club improve to 12-5 against the Rays -- including 7-1 at Camden Yards. The win also allowed the Orioles to remain two games behind division-leading Boston and hold one of the two AL wild-card spots. Tampa Bay saw its three-game winning streak end as a result and fell to 8-10 since Aug. 29, when it began a 26-game stretch in which it will not play a contest outside of the division.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FSN Sun (Tampa Bay), MASN (Baltimore)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays RH Matt Andriese (7-7, 4.46 ERA) vs. Orioles RH Chris Tillman (16-5, 3.68)
Andriese collected his first victory since beginning the season 6-0 with five solid innings in Sunday's win over the New York Yankees, yielding only one run on a Chase Headley homer among the six hits he allowed. The 27-year-old was coming off back-to-back outings in which he surrendered seven runs, including a five-inning loss against the Orioles on Sept. 5. Chris Davis (3-for-7, two homers) is among the Baltimore hitters who have fared well against Andriese, who is 0-3 with a 9.24 ERA in five games (two starts) versus the Orioles.
Tillman celebrated his return from a stint on the disabled list with his first victory in exactly a month following Sunday's win in Detroit, permitting one run on four hits across six frames. The California native, who missed three weeks with right shoulder inflammation, can surpass his career high in victories set in 2013 with another win. Evan Longoria (17-for-60, seven homers) has by far the most experience of any Ray against Tillman, who is 3-0 with a 3.04 ERA in four starts versus Tampa Bay this season.
WALK-OFFS
1. Orioles RF Mark Trumbo, who leads the majors with 42 home runs, did not play Friday due to back spasms and is tentatively expected to return Saturday after starting 145 of the team's first 146 games.
2. Rays UTIL Nick Franklin (hamstring) was held out of Friday's game as well and is day-to-day.
3. Baltimore RHP Darren O'Day (shoulder) threw a simulated game on Friday and could be activated before the end of the weekend.