PORT CHARLOTTE (WDAE) — The Baltimore Orioles sent nine men to the plate in the eighth inning, scoring four runs off Emilio Pagan and Tyler Cloyd to erase a 5-3 lead and send the Tampa Bay Rays to a 9-6 defeat Wednesday at Charlotte Sports Park.
Charlie Morton, making his second Grapefruit League start, worked into the third inning, allowing a pair of hits and hitting two batters, but not allowing a run.
Tampa Bay got on the board in the bottom of the fourth, as Bo Schultz loaded the bases on singles by Ji-Man Choi, Avisail Garcia, and Willy Adames. Guillermo Heredia was hit by a pitch to open the scoring, and Michael Perez walked to force in another run. Kean Wong's RBI fielder's choice gave the Rays a 3-0 advantage.
Baltimore tied the game up on a pair of home runs in the fifth off Yonny Chirinos: a solo shot by Anthony Santanader, and a two-run blast by Cedric Mullins that evened the contest at 3-3.
A pair of sacrifice flies from Adames and Heredia in the bottom of the fifth broke the tie again, but Baltimore loaded the bases against Emilio Pagan in the eighth, and Yusniel Diaz cleared them with a double off Tyler Cloyd. Drew Jackson and Jack Reinheimer added singles later in the inning off Cloyd for a 7-5 lead.
Mike Yastrzemski's two-run homer in the ninth off Ryne Stanek pushed the Orioles lead to 9-5, while Tampa Bay scratched across one run in the bottom of the frame, but could get no closer.
The Toronto Blue Jays come to Charlotte Sports Park for the first time this spring, with Tyler Glasnow taking in Clayton Richard. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05.