Dylan Beavers clubbed a walk-off hit in the bottom of the 10th to give the Baltimore Orioles a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday night at Camden Yards.
Beavers cracked a low 86 mph changeup from Bryan Baker off the right-center field wall. It almost looked like a home run, but Beavers never made it home as he was mobbed by teammates on the third base line after automatic runner Leody Taveras easily scored from second as the ball caromed off the fence at a sharp unplayable angle.
"That was a tough at-bat. Glad I came through," Beavers said, just after he was doused in ice water by teammates to celebrate his second walk-off hit of the year.
The Orioles - who have beaten the AL East-leading Rays in five of their past six meetings, all in the past two weeks - trailed for most of the game, until late. Tampa Bay led 1-0 on a Liam Hicks home run in the second and made it 2-0 in the sixth on a Junior Caminero RBI single. Samuel Basallo, recently returned from a shoulder injury, came off the bench with one out in the eighth and hit a game-tying 411-foot home run to center field off Rays reliever Kevin Kelly to knot the score at 2-2.
“Being able to come back from the injury and help the team get that win made it feel even better,” Basallo, who hit the first pinch-hit homer of his career, said after the game.
Tyler O'Neill made a handful of Gold Glove-caliber plays in right field to keep it there — he threw out a runner at third, then had an on-the-run backhanded grab off a Junior Caminero liner for the first out of the top of the ninth and a diving catch on a short Richie Palacios fly with a runner on second for the final out of that half of the same frame.
In the top of the 10th, Orioles right-handed reliever Rico Garcia successfully fielded a Taylor Walls bunt with his bare hand. Garcia tossed the ball underhand to catcher Carlos Narváez, who tagged Palacios — who began the inning on second as the automatic runner — in the face for the second out at home.
Garcia's scoreless top half made him the pitcher of record when Beavers delivered the winning hit in the bottom of the inning, earning him the win. Baker, who faced one batter and allowed the game-ending hit without recording an out, took the loss. Brandon Young started for Baltimore and worked 5.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits with three strikeouts, while Shane McClanahan matched him for Tampa Bay with five scoreless innings and five strikeouts before the bullpens took over.
Pete Alonso and Coby Mayo each went 2-for-4 to lead Baltimore's regulars, and Jackson Holliday added a hit and a run scored. The win improves the Orioles to 63-67, while the Rays, who still hold the American League's best record, fall to 76-53. The series finale is tomorrow.
The Orioles are one game behind Texas (64-66) for the final AL wild-card spot.