Rays 2 - 3 Orioles
Final/14
  for this game

O's win on Machado's bloop single in 14th inning

Sep 14, 2012 - 4:10 AM

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Baltimore, MD (Sports Network) - Adam Jones scored on Manny Machado's two-out single in the bottom of the 14th inning as the Baltimore Orioles finished off a three-game sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays and guaranteed their first .500 season since 1997 with a 3-2 win on Thursday.

The Orioles failed to score with the bases loaded and no outs in the 13th, but orchestrated a two-out rally in the next inning. Jones kept the 14th alive with a two-out walk and Endy Chavez singled before Machado's soft fly ball to left field off Chris Archer (0-3) couldn't be caught by a diving Matt Joyce.

"You leave the bases loaded with nobody out in a game like that and you go back out there and put up a zero, that's really hard to do," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said.

With their 13th consecutive extra-inning win, the Orioles kept pace with New York atop the AL East after the Yankees came out victorious against Boston on Thursday. The Rays are now four games behind Baltimore.

"I think you have to give the Orioles a lot of credit for the way they are playing right now," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "But there is time left ... we play them three more times at the end of the year."

Wei-Yin Chen started on the mound for the Orioles and gave up two runs on eight hits with one costly walk and seven strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings. Randy Wolf (2-0) picked up the win after recording the final out with two runners on base in the top of the 14th.

Jeremy Hellickson tossed five-plus scoreless innings for Tampa Bay, scattering four hits with three walks and five strikeouts.

Singles by Ben Zobrist and Evan Longoria to start the fourth put runners on the corners for Tampa Bay. Jones dove to make the grab on Jeff Keppinger's looper to center field, but Zobrist tagged and scored on the play.

Ryan Roberts followed with a single, but, for the second time in three innings, Luke Scott committed the final out with two runners aboard.

The O's grabbed the lead in the seventh. Machado bunted and reached on error by pitcher Wade Davis to open the frame. Robert Andino then worked a one-out walk and scored along with Machado on Taylor Teagarden's double to the right-center gap.

Tampa Bay tied the game at 2-all in the eighth. Chen issued a leadoff walk to Desmond Jennings, who advanced on a passed ball and stole third base before hustling home on Zobrist's infield single.

Game Notes

The Rays were swept in Baltimore for the first time since July 24-26, 2007 ... Jennings returned to the Tampa Bay lineup after missing four games with lower- back tightness ... Roberts left the game in the 11th after fouling a pitch off his left ankle ... The Orioles were 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left 16 men on base ... Jones went 0-for-5 to snap his hitting streak at 10 games.






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