What happened? Ramón Laureano drove in two runs and had a key outfield assist, and Jordan Westburg had three hits as the Orioles defeated the Tampa Bay Rays, 5-1, at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa on Tuesday night.
Laureano had two run-scoring singles that drove in Westburg. Colton Cowser hit his fourth home run and Gunnar Henderson extended his hitting streak to 11 games with an RBI single.
The Orioles were 5-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Tampa Bay starter Zack Littell (6-7) allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings.
The Orioles (31-41) evened the four-game series. Tampa Bay (40-33) beat the Orioles, 7-1, on Monday night.
“You beat teams with two-out RBIs,” interim manager Tony Mansolino told reporters in Tampa. “If you have two-out RBIs and the bullpen throws the ball good, you’re going to win a lot of games in this league.
Oriole starter Dean Kremer, who lost his previous two starts, allowed one run on four hits in five innings. He struck out four and walked two.
The Rays are 2 ½ games behind New York in the American League East.
“They’re a very scrappy team,” Kremer told reporters in Tampa. “They can hit for power. They can hit for average. They steal, hit-and-run, bunt. They do all the little things right … It’s making sure I’m quick to the plate and taking care of the little things.”
Tampa Bay’s only run came in the fourth when Junior Caminero’s single scored Brandon Lowe.
Jonathan Aranda was out trying for a double in the second on an excellent throw from right by Laureano, who cut off the ball while running to his right and made a perfect spinning throw to second.
“Laureano had an unbelievable game, saved a run for me for sure,” Kremer said.
Keegan Akin, Gregory Soto, Bryan Baker and Félix Bautista combined for four scoreless innings, allowing three hits.
“We’ve leaned on them heavily, and they did it again tonight,” Mansolino said. “It feels really good. They’ve been really good for three or four weeks.”
The Orioles added a run in the ninth when Dylan Carlson reached on an infield single, stole second and scored on Jackson Holliday’s single. It was another aggressive send by third base coach Buck Britton.
“Starting pitching’s been great, bullpen’s been great, bullpen’s been phenomenal,” Cowser said on the postgame telecast. “When you’re able to put up some runs with good pitching, good things happen.”
Minor league infielder Luis Guevara, a 19-year-old who was signed by the team in January 2023, has died, the team announced. According to published reports, multiple minor leaguers were involved in a jet ski crash on Sunday. The team’s Florida Complex League games have not been played for the last two days.
How well did Kremer pitch? Kremer helped cool down an opponent that had been hot.
“We had a pretty good mix going,” Kremer said. “That was the plan going in, mix speeds and just try to get it off barrel.”
After the Rays tied it at 1 in the fourth, Kremer struck out Jake Magnum and Marc Thaiss.
“He held his emotions in check. He made a big pitch,” Mansolino said. “When he gets in those sticky spots, we trusted him.”
Kremer was helped out by the four scoreless innings from the bullpen.
“They’ve been holding it down for the last month now,” he said. “The back of the bullpen guys are unbelievable with really good stuff.”
What does it mean? The Orioles put together a complete performance against the Rays. They’ll need more of those in the next two games.
What’s the stat of the day? While the Orioles are only hitting .217 with runners in scoring position, they’re tied for 28th with the New York Mets, the team that’s currently ranked No. 1 in most MLB power polls.
What’s the word? “I’m in an 0-2 count a lot.”-Cowser on hitting his first home run on an 0-2 count.
What’s going on in the minor leagues? Shortstop Jeremiah Jackson hit two home runs and catcher Samuel Basallo hit his 15th as Triple-A Norfolk beat Memphis, 7-5.
In his first start for Double-A Chesapeake, Blake Money allowed six runs on six hits in three innings as the Baysox lost to Erie, 6-1.
High-A Aberdeen lost to Brooklyn, 10-2.
Catcher Yasmil Bucce homered and drove in three as Single-A Delmarva lost to Hickory, 6-4.
What’s next? Trevor Rogers (0-0, 0.00) will be recalled to start for the Orioles against Taj Bradley (4-5, 4.35) on Wednesday night at 7:35.
Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com