It got interesting late, but the Orioles defeated the Rays 9-6 on Wednesday night behind a six-run ninth inning and a seven-inning start from recent All-Star Game electee John Means.
In his final live action before embarking to Cleveland for All-Star festivities, Means tied his longest start of 2019, which came May 6 against the Red Sox. Means threw 98 pitches, 71 for strikes, and gave up three runs (two earned) on six hits and five strikeouts.
"He went seven innings and did not walk a batter," manager Brandon Hyde said after the game. "He proved why he's an All-Star pitcher tonight, like he does every time out practically. Set the tone for us, we gave them a run early, Johnny comes back, just did a really good job pitching ahead all night long."
The Orioles batted around in the top of the ninth, scoring six runs on a combination of small ball, Rays defensive miscues, and some power. Anthony Santander walked to begin the inning, went to second on a Ruiz sacrifice bunt, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a fielder's choice. Then Jonathan Villar notched his second triple of the season to score Pedro Severino from first.
9th inning fireworks! #Birdland pic.twitter.com/6TVS6K5PF2
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) July 4, 2019Following another fielder's choice-gone-wrong that scored Villar and put Trey Mancini on second, Chance Sisco singled to put runners on the corners. It was here that Renato Nunez blasted his team-leading 19th home run to left field to pad Baltimore with a six-run lead.
#Orioles had never scored more than three runs in any ninth inning this season, and they've equaled their biggest inning of the year.
— Rich DubroffMLB (@RichDubroffMLB) July 4, 2019Richard Bleier entered the ninth inning with a 9-3 advantage, but exited after surrendering three runs with two outs recorded. With runners on first and third, Hyde called on Shawn Armstrong, who struck out Tommy Pham on a 94-MPH fastball for his second save of the season.
The Orioles, now 25-61, snap a three-game losing streak, but Tampa Bay takes the series 2-1. Before the All-Star break takes place next week, the Birds will enjoy a Thursday off day before heading to Toronto for a three-game weekend series with the 33-54 Blue Jays. Friday's game has a 7:07 start time, and the pitching matchup is Dylan Bundy (3-10, 4.91 ERA) vs. Aaron Sanchez (3-11, 6.31 ERA).
Down on the Farm: Center-fielder Zach Watson, who the Orioles took in the third round of June's Amateur Draft with the 79th-overall pick, hit his first home run as a professional baseball player tonight as the Aberdeen IronBirds bested the Connecticut Tigers (DET) 4-0.
Late-round selections Ian Evans (2018) and Toby Welk (2019) added RBi singles in the effort, and four Aberdeen pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts. 2017 pick Adam Stauffer started the contest, tossing four scoreless frames with six strikeouts.
S~E~L~L~O~U~T --#WheelsUp | #IronBirds pic.twitter.com/XOPlacZ6vQ
— Aberdeen IronBirds (@IronBirds) July 3, 2019
