ST. PETERSBURG, Florida—After losing the last two games of a four-game series in Toronto, the Orioles rebounded behind three home runs and a solid start by Cole Irvin Irin, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 6-3 before 17,822 at Tropicana Field on Friday night in the first of another four-game series.
Anthony Santander, Ryan Mountcastle and Jordan Westburg provided the power. The home runs by Mountcastle and Westburg were two-run homers. Santander’s was a solo shot.
Santander led off the second with his fourth home run in the last seven games, his 13th of the season, against Tampa Bay starter Aaron Civale (2-5). Civale had limited the Orioles (40-22) to a run on six hits in 5 1/3 innings a week ago.
The Orioles took a 2-0 lead when Colton Cowser singled with one out, and after the intervention of a replay challenge, scored on Ramón Urías’ double.
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Jose Siri’s sixth home run against Irvin (6-2) in the second made it 2-1, and the Rays (31-32) tied it when Amed Rosario’s sacrifice fly in the third scored Yandy Diaz.
Gunnar Henderson singled to lead off the fifth, and with one out, Mountcastle’s home run, which was barely fair, put the Orioles ahead, 4-2. Mountcastle has been hot this week, hitting a pair of homers against Tampa Bay on Saturday and in Toronto on Tuesday. He has 11 this season.
Irvin got the first two outs in the sixth before Siri singled. Jonny DeLuca broke an 0-for-27 with single, and with runners on first and second, Tyler Walls grounded to Henderson at deep short, who threw to first wildly, allowing Siri to score.
With runners on second and third, Jacob Webb replaced Irvin and retired José Caballero on a fly ball to left.
In the eighth, Ryan O’Hearn led off with a double against Chris Devenski and scored on Westburg’s 10th home run with one out.
Irvin allowed three runs, two earned, on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Webb allowed a hit in a scoreless seventh, and Yennier Cano walked one and struck out two in a scoreless eighth.
Craig Kimbrel earned his 14th save of the season and the 431st of his career with a perfect ninth.