The Baltimore Orioles will come home to begin a ten-game homestand on Friday after being swept at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays (33-15). The Birds succumbed 5-3 today in an all too familiar way, allowing opponents to score runs with two outs.
It transpired in the eighth inning on Wednesday. Leading 3-1 going into the bottom of the inning and having just retired the last fourteen Rays’ batters in a row, the Orioles coughed up the lead and ultimately had to swallow the loss.
The eighth opened with Anthony Nunez (2-1) on the mound. Hunter Feduccia, who previously hit his first MLB homerun in the second inning, led off with a first-pitch single. Taylor Walls popped out and Chandler Simpson hit into a force out; runner on first with two outs. Junior Caminero then singled on a 3-2 count; runners now on the corners with two outs. Jonathan Aranda tied the game at three with a 2-RBI double on a 1-2 count; Colton Cowser bobbled the ball twice before throwing it into the infield. Nunez walked the next batter and was relieved by Rico Garcia; runners on first and second with two outs. Garcia then gives up a single to Richie Palacios on a 3-0 count, allowing Aranda to score and finishing Nunez’s line at 4 runs on 3 hits with a walk in 2/3 on an inning; runners at the corners still with two outs. Tampa then executed a double steal that the O’s botched. Adley Rutschman threw to Gunnar Henderson at second who moved up to receive the throw and then threw high to home, allowing the fifth and final Tampa Bay run to score.
Shane Baz did all he could in his return to Tampa Bay following his trade to Baltimore in December of 2025. He delivered a quality start, allowng 1 run on 6 hits with 3 walks and 6 strikeouts across 6.0 innings.
Pete Alonso (2 for 4) did his part with a RBI-single in the third inning and a solo homerun to right field leading off the sixth. Two batters later, Samuel Basallo (2 for 4) hit a solo homerun, his seventh, to right field as well.
Henderson went 3 for 5 and raised his batting average 9 points. He is currently slashing .220/ .271/ .416, a far cry from the standard he set for himself prior to this season.
Once again Baltimore’s demons were ever-present, 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position, 9 runners left on base and the inability to prevent runs with two outs.
For comparison’s sake, the Orioles were 16-34 at this point in 2025 (5.0 games behind this year’s record).
2026 Record: 21-29
Next Game: Fri. 5/22 @ 7:15 pm vs. Detriot Tigers (Apple TV)
