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Orioles trounce Rays behind five homers

Aug 26, 2014 - 5:44 AM Baltimore, MD (SportsNetwork.com) - Delmon Young went 3-for-3 with three RBI and belted one of five Baltimore home runs as the Orioles broke out of an offensive slump with a 9-1 drubbing of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Held to a mere four runs while being swept in a three-game set by the Chicago Cubs over the weekend, the Orioles returned home with a bang. Nick Markakis, Steve Pearce, J.J. Hardy and Chris Davis also homered as Baltimore hammered Jake Odorizzi for eight runs in the Rays starter's four-plus innings of work.

"It was a challenge coming into [the game], but we strung a lot of good at- bats together and gave us some cushion there," Orioles manager Buck Showalter remarked.

Pearce, Adam Jones and Jonathan Schoop all collected two hits in the rout, supporting seven strong innings from Chris Tillman.

Tillman (11-5) yielded just one unearned run on three hits to extend his unbeaten streak to eight straight starts.

Odorizzi (9-11) served up four of Baltimore's long balls and 11 of the Orioles' 14 hits.

An error by Schoop helped the Rays claim a brief 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning, but the Baltimore second baseman singled to open the bottom of the frame before Markakis snapped an 0-for-21 skid by socking a go-ahead two- run homer to right.

Pearce followed with a towering blast well into the stands in left to put the Orioles up by a 3-1 count.

Odorizzi temporarily bounced back with a scoreless fourth inning, but was shelled in the fifth as Baltimore broke open the contest.

Consecutive singles by Pearce, Jones and Nelson Cruz gave the Orioles a 4-1 advantage that was quickly extended when Young clobbered a changeup for a three-run blast. Hardy then reached the seats on Odorizzi's final pitch of the evening, and Davis greeted Kirby Yates with a shot over the wall in right center to complete the back-to-back-to-back sequence and make the score 9-1.

The Rays, meanwhile, generated few chances against a sharp Tillman on the night. Yunel Escobar singled to begin the third and raced to third when Schoop mishandled a throw from Hardy on a force attempt, then scored Tampa's lone run when Sean Rodriguez bounced into a double play.

Tillman permitted just two more hits before Darren O'Day and Zach Britton closed out the win with a scoreless inning each.

"One of the keys is you see him carry a crisp fastball early in the game," Showalter said of Tillman. "He's had that for a while now, knock on wood. That's usually an indicator."

Game Notes

Tillman improved to 4-0 over his last eight outings and lowered his ERA to 1.26 in August. The Orioles have won the last six times he's taken the mound ... Pearce extended his hitting streak to eight games, matching a career best set while with Houston in August of 2012 ... Tampa Bay's Ben Zobrist started in center field for the first time since Sept. 22, 2010 at the Yankees ... Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier was held out of the lineup due to a stiff neck.