ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Curtis Mead hit a crucial sacrifice fly in the eighth inning and the Tampa Bay Rays avoided a three-game sweep with a 2-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday.
Anthony Santander hit his 35th home run and Albert Suárez allowed four hits in 6 2/3 scoreless innings for the Orioles, who began the day with a one-game lead over the New York Yankees in the AL East.
Brandon Lowe opened the eighth inning against struggling reliever Craig Kimbrel (6-4) with a walk and stole second base with one out. Christopher Morel managed a walk, the Rays had a double steal and Josh Lowe was intentionally walked before Mead scored with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-1.
Kimbrel, who ranks fifth all-time with 440 saves, was not used in the ninth inning for the fourth consecutive game after posting a 13.50 ERA in the second half of July.
After Manuel Rodríguez (2-2) had avoided Gunnar Henderson’s double with one out in the eighth inning, Pete Fairbanks made three outs and his 23rd save in 25 chances.
Henderson had his second consecutive three-hit game and his 14th overall with three or more hits this season.
Cionel Pérez replaced Suárez in the seventh inning and allowed a double to pinch-hitter José Caballero and a pinch-hit RBI single to Dylan Carlson.
Santander had gone hitless in 11 at-bats before giving the Orioles a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning with his 26th home run against Jeffrey Springs, his best major league home run since early June.
Baltimore leads the majors with 184 home runs.
Springs allowed one run and six hits and had eight strikeouts in five innings in his third start since undergoing Tommy John surgery on April 24, 2023.
TRAINING ROOM
Orioles: INF Jorge Mateo (elbow) will be evaluated in the near future to determine a plan of action. He has been out of action since July 24.
Rays: RHP Ryan Pepiot (right knee infection) has returned to the team after starting for Double-A Montgomery on Saturday night. He was not named to the roster but could be inserted back into the rotation this week.
Next
Orioles: LHP Trevor Rogers (2-10, 4.71) and Washington RHP Jake Irvin (8-10, 3.76 ERA) are the starters Tuesday night. Rogers is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in two starts with Baltimore after being acquired from Florida on July 30.
Rays: RHP Taj Bradley (6-6, 3.07 ERA) faces Houston LHP Framber Valdez (11-5, 3.46 ERA) on Monday night.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
