Tyler O’Neill singled in Colton Cowser in the 10th inning as the Baltimore Orioles won their second straight one-run affair Saturday night against American League East-leading Tampa Bay, edging the Rays 4-3 in their four-game series in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Following O’Neill’s run-scoring hit, Baltimore reliever Cam Sanders whiffed Richie Palacios in an eight-pitch at-bat with two runners on to preserve the win and notch his second save in two nights and third overall.
Pete Alonso was 3-for-5 with a homer, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand ripped a solo shot. Leody Taveras had two hits and an RBI.
Orioles’ starter Kyle Bradish yielded two runs on seven hits. He walked four and struck out three.
Jonathan Aranda went 3-for-5, while Chandler Simpson and Yandy Diaz had two hits for Tampa Bay.
Starting pitcher Ian Seymour fanned nine in six innings with a walk, but he surrendered three runs — two on solo homers — on six hits.
Closer Bryan Baker (1-1) gave up the game-winning hit against his former team.
Gunnar Henderson continued to wear out the home side’s pitching by stroking a single in the second inning for the contest’s first hit. The shortstop put Baltimore up 1-0 by coming across on Taveras’ single to left.
The Rays appeared to be in store for a big frame in the third, but Taylor Walls was cut down trying to advance to second on his single, which advanced Palacios to third. Baltimore catcher Carlos Narvaez tried to pick him off and threw the ball into left field to tie it 1-all.
After finding his groove and whiffing four of five batters in one stretch, Seymour was rocked in the fifth by Alonso on an 83-mph sweeper, which the Tampa native sent about seven rows deep into the stands in right-center field. Alonso’s 27th homer broke the 1-1 tie.
The visitors used the long ball again in the sixth as Encarnacion-Strand took Seymour an estimated 418 feet to left-center for a solo shot, his fifth, and moved the lead to 3-1.
Cedric Mullins narrowed the deficit to one run in the bottom half with a two-out triple to the right-center gap to plate Liam Hicks.
Former Rays All-Star reliever Andrew Kittredge (2-3) came on in the ninth and retired Palacios on a lineout and pinch hitter Victor Mesa Jr. on a flyout before Diaz and Aranda singled. Junior Caminero then produced an RBI infield single to knot it 3-all.
