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Hardy's slam helps O's rout Rays

May 15, 2011 - 10:45 PM St. Petersburg, FL (Sports Network) - J.J. Hardy belted a grand slam and Nick Markakis homered during a three-hit day, as the Baltimore Orioles downed the Tampa Bay Rays, 9-3.

Matt Wieters also had three hits and an RBI in the Orioles' 15-hit barrage.

Jake Arrieta (5-1) scattered two runs, four hits and three walks while fanning seven over six innings for the win, the club's fifth in six games.

"Arrieta threw the ball well, and [Baltimore] had a really well rested bullpen after not being used the previous two days because of the two complete games they threw," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "They had a lot of things going for them."

Andy Sonnanstine (0-1) was touched for four runs on eight hits in a five- inning start for Tampa Bay, which had won seven of eight before dropping the final two meetings of this three-game set.

Elliot Johnson and Matt Joyce hit solo home runs in defeat.

Baltimore blew open its two-run lead off Tampa Bay's bullpen in the sixth. Rob Delaney relieved Sonnanstine and promptly walked the only three batters he faced -- Adam Jones, Wieters and Mark Reynolds.

Cesar Ramos was called in from the bullpen and immediately fell behind in the count to Hardy. On a 2-0 count, Hardy took a low fastball down the left-field line and over the fence for his third career grand slam and an 8-2 cushion.

"J.J. made them pay for pitching around guys. That was a big blow," Orioles outfielder Luke Scott said of the grand slam.

Joyce's homer in the eighth and Reynolds' run-scoring single in the ninth accounted for the final score.

Wieters singled in Vladimir Guerrero in the second inning, and Derrek Lee's two-run base hit to center made it 3-0 in the third frame.

Casey Kotchman followed Johnson's third-inning blast with an RBI single in the fourth, pulling the Rays within one.

Markakis got a run back leading off the fifth when he sent Sonnanstine's 1-2 pitch into the right-field seats.

Game Notes

The Rays have failed to score more than five runs in 22 home games. The streak is second longest in the modern era (since 1900) to start a season. The record is 26, set by the 1908 Brooklyn Superbas.