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).
Leody Taveras and Jonah Heim homered as the AL West-leading Texas Rangers stretched their winning streak to six games with a 5-1 victory over the slumping Tampa Bay Rays.
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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