Rays Rally From 8 Runs Down, Stun Orioles 12-8 With Record-Setting Comeback
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TAMPA, Fla. — This one was over practically before it started.
And then it wasn't.
The Tampa Bay Rays were in an eight-run hole after just two innings, but they staged a comeback for the ages on Wednesday night, scoring 12 unanswered runs to beat the Baltimore Orioles 12-8 at Steinbrenner Field. And they basically rewrote the franchise record book in the process, with the largest comeback win in team history.
It looked like a disaster from the beginning, with starting pitcher Taj Bradley struggling once again. He allowed seven runs — six earned — and only got four outs before being yanked by manager Kevin Cash. It's the second time in three starts that he's allowed seven runs.
But then something crazy happened. It suddenly became a bullpen game, and the Rays' arms put together one solid inning after another, posting seven straight scoreless innings. It allowed the Rays' hitters — who had scored at least seven runs in four straight games before losing Tuesday night — to work their way back in the game.
The Rays scored three runs in the third with a Christopher Morel RBI double and two more runs on a Jake Mangum single. They added one more in the fourth with a Curtis Mead triple and a Junior Caminero single to make it 8-4.
In the fifth inning they got it back to even at 8-8 with a Taylor Walls RBI triple, an RBI single from Yandy Diaz and then a game-tying two-run homer from Brandon Lowe, his 15th of the season.
The Rays blew it open in the seventh, scoring four more runs — all with two outs. Diaz singled and Brandon Lowe walked, and then three straight singles from Caminero, Josh Lowe and Jonathan Aranda secured the crazy win.
The Rays are now 41-33 on the season, and just 1.5 games behind the New York Yankees in the American League East. The Yankees lost their sixth straight game Wednesday, falling 3-2 at home to the Los Angeles Angels.
Tom Brew is the publisher of ''Tampa Bay Rays on SI'' and has been with the Sports Illustrated platform since 2019. He has worked at some of America's finest newspapers, including the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He owns eight sites on the "On SI'' network and has written four books.
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