BALTIMORE (AP) — Dylan Beavers homered on the first pitch of the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Baltimore Orioles a 6-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in their home finale Thursday.
The Orioles — who would have been assured of a last-place finish in the AL East with a loss — rallied from a 5-2, eighth-inning deficit and guaranteed the Rays consecutive losing seasons for first time since four straight from 2014-17. Coby Mayo tied it with a two-run homer in the eighth.
Keegan Akin (5-4) worked the ninth. Kevin Kelly (2-5) allowed the homers to Mayo and Beavers, each on the first pitch of the at-bat.
Jesse Scholtens struck out nine in 5 1/3 innings of relief for the Rays. His final pitch was a swinging third strike by Colton Cowser in the eighth, but the ball got away for a wild pitch that allowed a run to score. Mayo then greeted Kelly with a two-run shot.
Tampa Bay’s Christopher Morel opened the scoring with a bases-loaded double in the third that made it 2-0. Richie Palacios followed with a sacrifice fly.
Ryan Mountcastle hit a solo homer in the third and an RBI single in the fifth to pull the Orioles within one. The Rays answered with two runs in the sixth on back-to-back RBI doubles by Tristan Gray and Bob Seymour.
Key moment
Rico Garcia allowed singles to the first three Tampa Bay hitters of the eighth, loading the bases. Then he retired the next three on two strikeouts and a lineout to keep the score 5-2 before Baltimore began its comeback.
Key stat
The Rays haven’t finished last in the AL East since 2016. They lead the Orioles by two games with three to play.
Up next
Tampa Bay heads to Toronto for a three-game series against the playoff-bound Blue Jays. Adrian Houser (8-4) starts for the Rays on Friday night against Shane Bieber (3-2).
The Orioles are in New York against the Yankees, the team battling Toronto for the AL East title. Baltimore starts Trevor Rogers (9-2, 1.35 ERA) on Friday night.
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