Orioles 0 - 3 Rays
Final
  for this game

O's hope to stay hot in St. Pete

Sep 5, 2014 - 3:07 PM (Sports Network) - The Baltimore Orioles keep winning and manager Buck Showalter doesn't care how they look.

The American League East leaders eye a fourth straight victory on Friday night in the first of three straight meetings with the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Orioles finished off a three-game sweep of Cincinnati on Thursday with a 9-7 decision, one game after blanking the Reds 6-0. In the finale, Chris Tillman allowed three runs over six innings, while Nick Hundley and Nelson Cruz homered.

J.J. Hardy added a two-run single in the seventh inning for the Orioles, who have won seven of their past eight and lead the division by 9 1/2 games.

"(Wins) don't have to be aesthetically pretty," Showalter said. "I'm not looking for pretty, I'm looking for (wins). I thought it was beautiful. I thought it was real pretty."

Cruz hit his major league leading 37th homer of the year and has a hit in six straight games. He has homered three times and driven in five runs over that span.

Wei-Yin Chen will start for the Orioles and is unbeaten over his last four starts. In fact, the left-hander has lost only once in his previous seven decisions to get to 14-4 on the year with a 3.83 earned run average.

Chen won his second decision in a row on Sunday versus Minnesota, though he did allow four runs on eight hits over 6 2/3 innings of a 12-8 win. He did strike out seven without giving up a walk.

"He had a good look, a really aggressive, good tempo -- the type of guy you like to have on the mound when it's as hot and sticky as it was today," said Showalter.

Chen is 3-4 lifetime versus the Rays with a 3.53 ERA in 12 meetings.

Tampa Bay kicks off the last leg of its 10-game homestand tonight and is 2-5 on the stay. The Rays split four meetings with Boston prior to getting swept in three games by Toronto.

The Rays lost a heartbreaker to the Blue Jays on Thursday, falling 1-0 in 10 innings. Colby Rasmus drove in the lone run of the game with a pinch-hit solo homer in the top of the 10th frame.

The loss wasted a gem of a start by Jake Odorizzi, who gave up only three hits over 7 1/3 innings.

"I just think you're seeing a young man understanding what he has and how to utilize it," Rays manager Joe Maddon said of Odorizzi.

Alex Cobb gets the call tonight for the Rays aiming to rebound from his first loss since June 23.

Cobb was 7-0 in 11 starts before a 3-0 setback to Boston on Sunday, though the righty gave up just two runs -- one earned -- on seven hits and a walk over 6 1/3 frames. He struck out six, but was outdueled by Clay Buchholz, who tossed a three-hit shutout for the Red Sox.

"You try to battle and go as deep as you can," Cobb said. "When (Buchholz) is on like that, it's tough to scratch across runs."

Cobb is 9-7 on the year with a 2.98 ERA and 4-1 lifetime versus the Orioles with a 2.14 ERA in seven meetings with Baltimore.

The Orioles have won 11 of their 16 meetings with the Rays this season.






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