BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Orioles took to the field just minutes after their 6-3 victory against the Tampa Bay Rays in the second game of a doubleheader. After getting a quality start from the rookie starter David Hess, they looked to get the same kind of outing from Alex Cobb.
In the top of the first inning, Rays first baseman C.J. Cron took Cobb deep for a solo shot. Baltimore would immediately respond in the first inning with a leadoff home run from Trey Mancini.
“You always hope that,” Mancini said of his home run and how it could positively affect the game. “It took us awhile to get it going. After the rain delay, I mean we came out and put some good at-bats together, I thought and got back in the game. So, there is something to be said for that. But unfortunately, we couldn’t pull out the W in the second game.”
The Rays quickly regained their lead with a Daniel Robertson groundout that scored Brad Miller. It would be more small ball in the top of the third, with Joey Wendle scoring Johnny Field on a sacrifice fly. During the top of the fourth inning, Miller hit a home run, with Tampa Bay’s lead sitting at 4-1.
At 7:37 p.m., a rain delay began after the fifth inning. After a onehour and 19 minute rain delay, Cobb was removed from the game. He went 5.2 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits, while striking out five and allowing two home runs. His ERA is now 7.06 on the year and he holds an 0-5 record.
“They were putting some good swings on it,” Cobb said of his pitches on Saturday. “I actually felt pretty good as the game went on. As the game went on, I actually felt like I was getting into a good groove before the rain came. Who knows. There were some times where I needed to battle back from some at-bats where I was behind in the count and trying to stay in the zone, but they hit them pretty good. ”
Things looked rough for Baltimore, but they were able to begin rebounding after the delay. In the bottom of the sixth, Mancini would hit a ground ball to center field, scoring Caleb Joseph. Jonathan Schoop would then ground out with Mancini scoring. Baltimore had cut the lead to 4-3.
Unfortunately for the Orioles, it was as close as they would get.
Cron would single on a hard line drive to right field, with Denard Span scoring off of a throwing error by Schoop, with Cron reaching second base. This would give the Rays a 5-3 lead in the top of the seventh inning. Mallex Smith would double in the top of the eighth, scoring Robertson. Later on in the same inning with the bases loaded, Pedro Araujo walked Cron, scoring Smith. This gave Tampa Bay a 7-3 lead.
The Rays finished off with a three-run ninth inning, with Smith tripling, scoring Wilson Ramos and Robertson. Carlos Gomez would line a single to left field to score Smith. Ultimately, the Orioles would lose 9-3.
“There was a game to be won,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said after the game. “I thought Alex [Cobb] was getting ready. His pitch count was somewhat down. An hour and 15. What’d y’all have? It’s too long, but he was wanting to go back out. Not a good idea, especially not in May. Especially with the — we’d do the same thing with anybody.”
Notes:
Baltimore had their four-game winning streak snapped. The teams split their double header and it was Baltimore’s first doubleheader since sweeping the Rays at Orioles Park on June 25, 2016. Baltimore is 170-141-289 (sweep-swept-split) all-time in doubleheaders.
Cobb’s fifth loss of the season extends his career-long losing streak to five games. He is currently 0-2 against Tampa Bay this season. It is the second time this year that he has allowed multiple home runs (April 14 at Boston). He struck out a season-high five batters, tying a season-high in his previous start.
Mancini’s home run in the first inning was his second leadoff home run of the season and the second of his career. He has both of Baltimore’s leadoff home runs on the season. He has four home runs against Tampa Bay in his career, which is the second-most against an opponent (Boston, 5).
Follow Kyle on Twitter @KyleAndrews1994
More predictions at Doc’s Sports.
(Photo Credit: Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports)
Bylines at Fox Sports 1340 AM, Bullets Forever, Baltimore Beatdown, Underdog Dynasty and many other sites.