Jonny Rockets Rays To Victory: Rays 2, Orioles 0

DeLuca’s sixth-inning home run ends the Rays’ five-series winless streak

The Tampa Bay Rays came into Sunday on a five-series winless streak and a six-series losing streak at Camden Yards against the Baltimore Orioles. They left those streaks behind in Baltimore after winning 2-0.

The game began with a quiet first inning for both teams. Christopher Morel’s leadoff single for the Rays was quickly erased when Adley Rutschman threw him out trying to steal second. Orioles’ starter Corbin Burnes then retired the next two batters, Jonathan Aranda and Jonny DeLuca, to keep things scoreless. On the other side, Zack Littell, starting for the Rays, worked around a single and an error by Taylor Walls to keep the Orioles off the board as well.

Jose Caballero tried almost single-handedly to provide some offense in the second inning. He got on base with a two-out single and stole second base. Walls then walked on five pitches, leading to Caballero stealing third base and Walls stealing second to pressure Burnes and the Orioles. Burnes responded by getting Ben Rortvedt to swing and miss at a curveball to end the half-inning.

Both teams were unable to score any runs through five innings. Burnes stifled the Rays’ attempts, while Littell kept the Orioles in check with precision and control. The only real threat from the Orioles came in the third inning when Gunnar Henderson reached third after a single and a throwing error on a stolen base attempt, but Littell induced a groundout from Ryan O’Hearn to end the inning.

The game’s key moment came in the top of the sixth. Jonathan Aranda led off with a walk, and Jonny DeLuca came through in the clutch with a towering two-run homer to left-center, his sixth of the season. The blast gave Tampa Bay a 2-0 lead, and suddenly, the momentum had shifted in the Rays’ favor. Junior Caminero and Caballero followed with singles, but the Rays couldn’t add more runs in the inning.

Littell’s day ended after walking Adley Rutschman to start the bottom of the sixth. Richard Lovelady took over and kept the Orioles in check by retiring the first three hitters he faced.

The Orioles had their chances late in the game, but the Rays’ bullpen rose to the occasion each time. In the bottom of the eighth, Baltimore looked poised to make a serious push. Coby Mayo, pinch-hitting for Nick Maton, drew a walk to start the frame. Gunnar Henderson followed with his third single of the game. With runners on first and second with one out, the Rays called on Edwin Uceta to take over for Garrett Cleavinger.

Uceta’s performance under pressure was nothing short of electric. Eloy Jiménez came in to pinch-hit for O’Hearn and went down swinging. The Orioles’ last hope in the inning, Anthony Santander, also fell victim to Uceta, striking out to end the threat.

Heading into the ninth with the Rays still clinging to their 2-0 lead, Uceta returned to the mound to shut the door. He got Colton Cowser to fly out to center, but Cedric Mullins kept the Orioles’ hopes alive with a single. With Mullins at second after a defensive indifference, the tension was building. Jackson Holliday worked a walk, putting the tying run on base and bringing the potential winning run to the plate in Coby Mayo.

Mayo, who had reached base with a walk in his previous at-bat, was the Orioles’ final hope. Uceta after getting behind 2-0 in the at-bat, delivered three straight sinkers for a called strike, a foul ball, and a swinging strike at the top of the zone to close out the game.

A shutout and a series win are great for a team struggling the past month. On Monday, the Rays travel to Philadelphia to open the series against the Phillies with first pitch scheduled for 6:40pm ET.