ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Ryan Mountcastle, Anthony Santander and Jordan Westburg homered, and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-3 on Friday night.
Baltimore leads the majors with 98 home runs. The Orioles had lost the final two games of a four-game set at Toronto, but still won for the 11th time in 15 games.
Cole Irvin (6-2) allowed three runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. Craig Kimbrel, the third Baltimore reliever, worked the ninth to get his 14th save in 17 chances.
“Offense did great things, defense was there,” Irvin said. “I mean, all-around great game for the team. It was a lot of fun.”
Tampa Bay, which had won three in a row, got a solo homer from Jose Siri in the second. The Rays have lost 23 games by three or more runs. Only the majors-worst Chicago White Sox, with 29, have more such losses in the AL.
“That’s kind of what our record is stating, that we can’t get a lot of momentum,” manager Kevin Cash said after the Rays fell to 31-32.
After getting hit by a first-inning pitch from Aaron Civale (2-5), Mountcastle put Baltimore ahead 4-2 with an opposite-field, 333-foot two-run homer down the right-field line in the fifth. Mountcastle is 7 for 11 with three homers and seven RBIs overall against the right-hander.
Westburg extended the lead to 6-3 with a two-run shot off Chris Devenski in the eighth. It was his 10th homer of the season, joining Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Santander and Mountcastle among Orioles in double digits. No other team has more than three players with at least 10 longballs.
“No matter what our lineup is, the person in the box with an opportunity, it seems like that guy usually comes through for us,” Westburg said.
Santander had a solo homer during a two-run second, his 13th. He has gone deep six times over his last 14 games.
The Rays got an unearned run in the sixth, but left fielder Colton Cowser preserved the Orioles’ 4-3 lead with a running catch on José Caballero’s two-out liner with runners on second and third.
“Cowser makes a really nice play,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “Got a great break and make-up speed to get to that baseball.”
Civale gave up four runs and seven hits over five innings in a 105-pitch outing. He has allowed 13 homers this season.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Orioles: OF Austin Hays, hit in the ribs by a pitch Thursday, was out of the lineup. X-rays were negative. … INF Jorge Mateo (concussion protocol) is increasing his on-field work.
Rays: Ace Shane McClanahan (Tommy John surgery) is throwing out to 120 feet. The lefty won’t be back until next year. … SS Taylor Walls (right hip surgery) was reinstated from the 60-day IL and had two hits. OF Harold Ramírez was designated for assignment. … LHP Jeffrey Springs (Tommy John surgery) struck out three in one scoreless inning for the rookie-level FCL Rays in his first start since being shut down due to lat discomfort on May 25.
UP NEXT
Orioles RHP Kyle Bradish (1-0, 3.18 ERA) and Rays RHP Taj Bradley (1-3, 5.81 ERA) are Saturday’s starters.
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