ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Colton Cowser hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning, and the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series between the American League’s top teams.
Baltimore started the day in first place for the first time after the All-Star break since Aug, 15, 2016. The Orioles, who started July 6½ games back, now have a one-game lead.
Aaron Hicks opened the 10th at second as the automatic runner. He advanced on pinch-hitter Adam Frazier’s sacrifice bunt and scampered home on Cowser’s fly ball to left against Robert Stephenson (1-4).
The Baltimore Orioles moved past the Tampa Bay Rays and into the AL East lead for the first time this season, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-5 behind three RBIs from Ramón Urías to avoid what would have been their first time getting swept in 14 months.
All-Star right-hander Nathan Eovaldi pitched two-hit ball over six scoreless innings and matched the major league lead with his 11th victory as the AL West-leading Texas Rangers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-3.
Aroldis Chapman got his first win since being traded to Texas when pinch-runner Josh Smith scored on Pete Fairbanks’ wild pitch in the ninth inning, giving the Rangers a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Félix Bautista (5-1) worked a perfect ninth for Baltimore and then stayed on for the 10th. He hit Luke Raley and struck out Randy Arozarena before Brandon Lowe bounced into a game-ending double play.
Orioles second baseman Ramón Urías helped keep the game tied in the eighth when he made a diving stop on pinch-hitter Harold Ramírez’s grounder with two on and threw him out at first.
Tampa Bay has lost five in a row. It is tied with Pittsburgh for the majors’ worst July record at 3-12.
The announced crowd, which included a sizable turnout of Orioles fans, was 20,203. Tampa Bay entered averaging 17,849 at home.
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