Pinch-Hit Blasts From Rookies Basallo And Beavers Power Orioles To Another Win Over Rays

Give the Rays some credit, they hung with the Orioles into extra innings.

For the best team in the American League, that’s pretty solid.

Somehow, the Orioles own Tampa, and they did it again Saturday night coming back from two down to win, 3-2, in extra innings at Camden Yards and secure a second series win over the Rays in a week. The Orioles are now 8-4 against the Rays, who lead the AL, this season and they are 5-1 against them this month. Unfortunately, everyone else has been beating up on the O’s this month or they wouldn’t be 63-67 and on the fringes of the Wild Card.

The rookies led the way, as Brandon Young was solid in a starting role, Samuel Basallo, who just turned 22 and who just came off the injured list, tied the game with a two-run last to dead center in the 9th; he's been a top run-producer for them all season. And Dylan Beavers won it with a double in the 10th.

“They’re a tough team, but we seem to play good games against them,” Beavers said on the MASN broadcast after the game.

Basallo came back from the IL after just two AA games, he didn’t even start the came and pinch hit for Coby Mayo off right-handed Kevin Kelly and destroyed a 2-0 pitch 411 feet, his first ever pinch-hit homer and 17th of the season. The Orioles had mustered nothing off Maryland native Shane McClanahan to that point – they never do – but heir bats tend to come alive late, and it was happening again.

“Our guys do a great job of staying prepared," manager Craig Albernaz said of a team that leads MLB in pinch hits, "and staying locked in when they are not in the starting lineup.”

There were two amazing plays by Tyler O’Neill in right field late in the 9th to keep this in Baltimore’s favor, ranging right into the gap to track a ball down and also sprinting in to dive and rob another ball, bookended around Jonny DeLuca’s double. And Rico Garcia fielded his position well in the 10th to get a throw to the plate to get former Oriole Cedric Mullins at the plate (he was the zombie runner).

And in the bottom of the 10th, Beavers, not in the lineup despite homering in three straight game, came in to pinch hit for catcher Carlos Narvaez in the nine spot, and after being fooled by a nasty change up from All-Star closer Bryan Baker (another former Oriole), Beavers went down and got a 2-2 change and flicked it off the wall in the right-field gap (it nearly got out for a fourth-straight HR game).

“That was a tough at bat,” Beavers said on the MASN broadcast after the game. “I’m glad I came through … Just trying to get some bat on ball.”

Pete Alonso was also in great form again for The Birds, with two more hits to extend his hit streak to 15 games (he’s batting nearly .500 in that span), but no one in the starting lineup could plate a run.

Young Hung In There

The Orioles held the Rays offense down for a second straight night. Young may be hitting the wall some, throwing more innings than ever before, but like many in this rotation lately he was able to scatter his hits and several double play balls helped him out (his ability to get ground balls is key).

“He gave us a chance to win, that was the biggest thing,” Albernaz said.

Albernaz did well to yank Young with two outs in the sixth, on just 84 pitches but not very sharp, and Josh Walker stranded two inherited runners replacing the starter and the bullpen was sharp throughout.

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