Blake Snell set a career high for strikeouts in a game, Curt Casali hit a solo homerun & the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-0 to complete a three game sweep & finish the season with 80 wins. The Rays tacked on five insurance runs in the eight, to help finish the season on a high note & a four game winning streak. Although, with the way Snell pitched, all the Rays needed was Casali's homerun. Snell's pitched seven innings striking out 13, two shy of the franchise record of 15 set by Chris Archer & James Shields.
The added runs came in the eighth when with one out Corey Dickerson singled & was removed for pinch runner, Peter Bourjos, who took third on Lucas Duda's single. Evan Longoria followed Duda's hit with a double to right, which scored Bourjos. Morrison then drove in another run with a single making it 3-0 Rays. And both Trevor Plouffe & Curt Casali drove in runs with bases loaded walks. The final run came on a sac fly from Mallex Smith.
The pitching duel between Snell & Baltimore's Kevin Gausman was evident early with each pitcher breezing through the first four innings with minimal damage, with Snell being perfect through four innings.
Snell started the game striking out two Orioles' batters in each of the first five innings, while retiring the first 12 batters he faced. Snell didn't give up his first until Orioles leftfielder Trey Mancini led off the fifth with a single. But after allowing that single, Snell retired the next three batters. Snell finished the game throwing 100 pitches walking none & allowing just 2 hits.
Meanwhile, the Rays touched up Gausman for just three hits in the first four innings & left three men on base. That is until the fifth when Casali hit a solo shot to leftfield. But that solo shot was the only real threat the Rays could muster against the Orioles righthander, who went seven innings allowing just six hits while striking out 9.
The Rays, who won just 68 games last year, finish the season 80-82 & in third place in the American League East.