Orioles Offense Goes Quiet as Rays Salvage Series Finale, 3-1

The Baltimore Orioles had a chance to finish off a three-game sweep of the American League East-leading Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday afternoon, but the offense never found its rhythm in a 3-1 loss at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Baltimore managed just three hits and did not draw a walk as Tampa Bay starter Nick Martinez controlled the game for six innings. The Orioles still took two of three in the weekend series, but Sunday’s loss dropped Baltimore to 63-68 and put a disappointing finish on a 2-4 homestand.

Martinez Completely Silences Baltimore

Martinez was the story for Tampa Bay.

The veteran right-hander allowed just one hit over six scoreless innings, struck out four and did not issue a walk. He improved to 13-4 and retired 18 of the 19 Orioles he faced.

Baltimore’s only hit against Martinez came from Colton Cowser, who doubled to right field with one out in the third inning. The Orioles could not take advantage, however, as Leody Taveras fouled out and Jackson Holliday flied out to end the inning.

From there, Martinez was nearly untouchable.

He retired the Orioles in order in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, preventing Baltimore from putting any pressure on Tampa Bay.

Baz Matches Martinez Early

Orioles starter Shane Baz pitched well enough to keep Baltimore in the game through the first five innings.

Baz worked around a Chandler Simpson single in the second and escaped trouble in the third after Tampa Bay put two runners on base. He then retired the Rays in order in the fourth and worked around another single in the fifth.

Through five innings, neither team had scored.

For an Orioles offense that struggled throughout the afternoon, Baz gave Baltimore every opportunity to grab control of the game.

Everything changed with two outs in the sixth.

Sixth Inning Changes Everything

Baz retired Richie Palacios and Taylor Walls to begin the sixth and appeared to be closing in on another scoreless frame.

Instead, Tampa Bay mounted the game’s decisive rally.

Yandy Diaz singled and Jonathan Aranda followed with another single. Diaz advanced to third on Aranda’s hit before scoring when Baz threw a wild pitch to Junior Caminero.

Caminero then drove a single up the middle to make it 2-0.

After Baz walked Liam Hicks, Orioles manager Craig Albernaz went to the bullpen and brought in Grant Wolfram. Simpson greeted Wolfram with an RBI single to center, scoring Caminero and extending Tampa Bay’s lead to 3-0.

Three runs with two outs were all Tampa Bay needed.

Baz finished after 5 2/3 innings, allowing five hits and three earned runs while walking three and striking out three. He fell to 4-14.

The record does not completely reflect how Baz has pitched. Baltimore has scored just 15 runs for him over his last 12 starts, and Baz is now 0-8 during that stretch.

That lack of run support showed up again Sunday.

Orioles Cannot Solve Tampa Bay Bullpen

Baltimore did not have any more success after Martinez left.

Cam Booser worked a perfect seventh inning, and Kevin Kelly retired the Orioles in order in the eighth.

That sent Baltimore to the ninth trailing 3-0 against closer Bryan Baker.

Cowser finally gave the Orioles some life.

He led off the inning by driving a solo home run, cutting the deficit to 3-1 and giving Camden Yards some late energy.

Baltimore made things interesting after that, but Baker escaped the inning and secured his 37th save of the season.

The Orioles never produced the big swing they needed.

Baltimore finished with only three hits and failed to draw a walk for the first time in 122 games.

Cowser Provides Nearly All of Baltimore’s Offense

Cowser was one of the few bright spots offensively.

He recorded Baltimore’s lone hit against Martinez with his third-inning double and later provided the Orioles’ only run with his ninth-inning homer.

The rest of Baltimore’s lineup struggled to generate anything consistently.

Jackson Holliday, Pete Alonso, Gunnar Henderson, Samuel Basallo, Coby Mayo, Dylan Beavers and Christian Encarnacion-Strand were all kept in check for most of the afternoon as Tampa Bay pitching dominated the matchup.

The Rays pitching staff allowed Baltimore very few opportunities, and the Orioles did not create enough traffic on the bases to manufacture runs.

Orioles Still Take Series

The loss prevented Baltimore from completing a sweep, but the Orioles did take two of three from the team sitting atop the AL East.

Baltimore won Friday’s opener 5-3 before earning a dramatic 3-2 extra-inning victory Saturday. Tampa Bay responded Sunday to improve to 77-53 and snap a three-game losing streak.

For the Orioles, however, the larger concern is the Wild Card race.

Baltimore entered Sunday just one game out of the final American League Wild Card position despite being below .500. A sweep over Tampa Bay would have been another significant step forward, but the Orioles instead dropped to 63-68.

There is still an opportunity in a crowded American League race, but games like Sunday’s become increasingly costly this late in the season.

MSB Take

Baltimore’s pitching gave the Orioles a chance.

Baz was locked into a legitimate pitchers’ duel with Martinez for five innings, and even after Tampa Bay finally broke through, the deficit remained manageable.

The problem was simple: the Orioles could not hit.

Three hits and zero walks are not going to win many Major League Baseball games, especially against the team with the best record in the American League.

Cowser provided almost all of Baltimore’s offense, but one hitter cannot carry an entire lineup.

Still, taking two of three from Tampa Bay is a positive result considering how the homestand began with three straight losses against the New York Yankees.

The Orioles now need to turn a series win into momentum rather than allowing Sunday’s offensive performance to become the start of another skid.

Baltimore has Monday off before opening a road series Tuesday night against the St. Louis Cardinals. Chris Bassitt is scheduled to start for the Orioles.