Catcher Wilson Ramos hit a grand slam & third baseman Evan Longoria hit a solo home run to give pitcher Alex Cobb the necessary run support to lead the Tampa Bay Rays to an 8-3 win over the Orioles in Baltimore on Friday night. Cobb threw six innings for the Rays allowing three runs & nine hits. Meanwhile the bullpen took the ball from Cobb, pitched three shutout innings with relievers Tommy Hunter & Brad Boxberger striking out each of the three batters they faced in the eight & ninth inning respectively.
Ramos grand slam came in the second inning after the Rays, who went three up & three down in the top first, loaded the bases on a hits batsman, then singles from both Steven Souza Jr & Corey Dickerson. The slam was the third grand slam of Ramos’ career & came off Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez. Jimenez allowed the Rays second home run of the night in the following inning to Longoria. The Rays added another run in that same third inning to jump out to a comfortable 6-2.
Cobb, who fought his way through the first four innings giving up two runs in the second & a solo home run to Orioles first baseman Chris Davis, was helped by solid defense. Both corner outfielders, Dickerson & Souza Jr made plays to help out their starting pitcher. Dickerson fielded a single by Adam Jones & threw out Manny Machado at the plate, while Souza made a running diving grab in the sixth, to end an Orioles’ rally in Cobbs’ last inning.
The Rays (75-79) try to get a game closer to .500 when the two teams play the third game of the four game series on Saturday night. Jake Odorizzi (9-8 4.46) goes against Jeremy Hellickson (8-10) 5.47. First pitch is at 7:05pm with coverage beginning on 620 WDAE at 5pm with the Inside Pitch hosted by Steve Carney.