Rio Ruiz and Anthony Santander homered and Mark Trumbo drove in a run with a pinch-hit double as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 in the first game of a doubleheader Tuesday.
Tampa Bay began the day with a slight edge over Cleveland for the top AL wild-card spot.
The afternoon game, originally scheduled for Wednesday night, was rescheduled on Aug. 31 as a precaution for Hurricane Dorian, which was then approaching Florida but never reached the Tampa Bay area.
The doubleheader is only the third in the Rays’ 22 seasons at Tropicana Field. They split against Detroit on Sept. 30, 2004, in a game rescheduled by Hurricane Frances, and they split against Oakland in a regularly scheduled doubleheader on June 10, 2017.
A day after his season debut following knee surgery, Trumbo drove in Mason Williams in the ninth inning. Williams went 2 for 4 and played in his first game with the Orioles.
Ty Blach (1-2) got the win after going five innings in his fourth start for Baltimore. Richard Bleier pitched the ninth for his third save in four opportunities.
Ruiz’s ninth home run came in the fifth off Rays starter Trevor Richards, driving in Baltimore’s first two runs and tying it at 2.
Santander made it 3-2 in the sixth with his 17th home run off Oliver Drake (3-2).
Richards gave up two runs in five hits in five innings, striking out four in his third start for the Rays since his trade from Miami on July 31.
Blach, one of six Orioles called up from Triple-A Norfolk on Tuesday, gave up two hits and four walks while striking out two.
Travis d’Arnaud’s 16th home run accounted for the two runs off Blach after Tommy Pham’s leadoff single in the fourth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rays: Injured starters Tyler Glasnow (right forearm strain) and LHP Blake Snell (left elbow bone chip surgery) are making progress in their rehab programs. Glasnow may be back and able to throw a few innings this weekend, while Snell could have a batting practice session or start a minor league rehab game Saturday. … Two-way player Brendan McKay was recalled from Triple-A to pitch Friday, but has been shut down from hitting after being out 10 days last month due to left shoulder fatigue.
UP NEXT
The second half of Tuesday’s doubleheader will be the final game of the 19-game season series. On Thursday, the Orioles open a seven-game homestand against Texas, and the Rays open a four-game home series against Toronto.
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