Rays 9, Orioles 6
Kelly Shoppach delivered a two-out, two-run single in the seventh inning and Evan Longoria added a two-run inside-the-park home run in the eighth as the visiting Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Baltimore Orioles 9-6 Sunday afternoon.
Shoppach, hitting .156 coming into the at-bat, made it 7-3 with his single to left field off reliever Mike Gonzalez.
Longoria’s swerving line drive eluded center fielder Adam Jones and went to the wall. Longoria finished with three RBIs for the second straight game.
Rays starter Wade Davis (5-5) won for the first time since May 8. J.P. Howell worked the ninth to earn his first save since Sept. 20, 2009.
Orioles starter Brian Matusz (1-1) lasted just 1 1/3 innings, allowing five hits, four walks and four runs. It was the first loss for Matusz since Aug. 14, 2010 against the Rays, after winning seven straight decisions.
Johnny Damon led off the game with a home run for the Rays, who stole four bases in the first inning and took a 3-0 lead. Damon finished with two hits and two RBIs while reaching base for the 37th straight game, matching the franchise record set by Ben Grieve in 2001.
Longoria’s inside-the-park homer was the first for the Rays since Carl Crawford accomplished the feat on July 20, 2009.
Jones and Vladimir Guerrero hit back-to-back solo homers in the bottom of the first for the Orioles. It was Guerrero’s first home run since May 22 and only his second since April 28.