Rays 0 - 4 Orioles
Final
  for this game

Orioles win 'home' game against Rays

May 3, 2015 - 3:24 AM St. Petersburg, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Miguel Gonzalez pitched well against a familiar foe and the Orioles won a game as the home team in a road stadium.

Gonzalez was strong into the eighth inning, leading Baltimore to a 4-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday night.

Gonzalez (3-1) struck out six and allowed just four hits and a walk in 7 2/3 innings in his 13th career start against the Rays -- his most against any team.

Because of the unusual circumstances surrounding the series, which was moved to St. Petersburg because of the recent riots in Baltimore, the Orioles got to close out the game in the top of the ninth inning as the home team in an away stadium.

Brad Brach escaped a jam in the eighth for Gonzalez, then pitched a perfect ninth inning to seal Baltimore's fourth win in five games.

Caleb Joseph hit a solo homer and Steve Pearce had a two-run double for the Orioles, who lost the opener 2-0 on Friday.

Rays starter Chris Archer (3-3) gave up four runs in six innings -- the first earned runs he allowed since an Opening Day loss to Baltimore. The righty had gone a franchise-record four starts without allowing an earned run.

He allowed six hits and four walks and his ERA climbed from 0.84 to 1.64 on the season.

"He looked human tonight," said Rays manager Kevin Cash. "I still thought he threw the ball well. You could tell he was battling his command. It's just one of those situations where the guy throwing against us was tough. Really tough."

Manny Machado walked and Jimmy Paredes singled with one out in the third inning to spark a three-run rally that gave the Orioles the lead. Chris Davis delivered a two-out RBI single and Pearce knocked in the last two runs with a double, but was thrown out at third base to end the inning.

They were the first earned runs given up by Archer since Pearce's leadoff homer in the sixth inning on April 6, a span of 29 1/3 innings.

"We play better against better pitching. I really believe that," said Pearce. "We step up to the challenge."

Joseph belted a 3-2 pitch over the wall in left-center field with one out in the bottom of the sixth, his second homer of the season, to make it 4-0.

Gonzalez remained in the game until issuing a leadoff single to Logan Forsythe and a two-out walk to David DeJesus in the eighth. Brach got Steven Souza Jr. to pop up, ending the inning.

Game Notes

Archer struck out five ... Forsythe had two of Tampa Bay's four hits ... Gonzalez is 5-4 lifetime against the Rays ... The game lasted 2 hours and 33 minutes.






Related News