Kevin Cash ejected, Rays fall to Orioles 5-3
Rays respond quickly after the Orioles jumped to an early lead in the 1st. It was not enough as the Orioles took advantage of a lackluster showing from the offense and pitching staff.
RAYS BASEBALL
Game Summary
Bottom of the 1st - With Peralta making his 4th start as a Ray fans are looking for signs of hope. Especially now with the team in a seemingly free fall. In the 1st pitch of the bottom of the 1st inning, Jackson Holiday gets on with a double. Second pitch Alonso singles to bring him in for a run. Peralta has not started games strong and was tested early and often. Peralta gives up a walk, and ends the inning with a strike out and a double play narrowly avoiding further damage in a best case scenario type inning.
Top of the 2nd - Rays jump back at the top of the second with Caminero and Simpson both getting hits against the lefty, Taylor Rodgers. Caminero scores on a Simpson single, tying the game 1-1 at the top of the 2nd inning. Mateo gets on base and with Kenny Piper at bat, hits a 2 run HR to take the lead 3-1. This is only Kenny Pipers 2nd MLB game at catcher.
Bottom of 2nd - Orioles respond immediately with the first pitch throw in the bottom of the second being launched for a HR by Dylan Beavers, his 3rd game in a row with a HR, and 4th HR in 9 games. Score : 3-2
Top of 3rd - Caminero, Simpson, and Vilade all gets hits but the team is unable to bring any runners in. Score 3-2
Bottom of 5th - Mayo gets on base with a pitch from Peralta hitting him, Holiday gets a single, and Alonso brings them all in with a low pitch being hit for a HR. Kevin Cash gets ejected for a swinging strike called no swing by umpire. Score 5-2
Top of 7th - Taylor Rodgers comes in to finish 7 innings to further extend his quality start and alleviate the depleted Oriole bullpen.
Bottoms of 7th - Although Peralta sacrificed 5 runs in this outing, he showed composure and maintained a low pitch count to get the opportunity to pitch 7 innings allowing just 1 hit in an efficient 7th Inning. Score 5-2
Game Summary
The Final scoring of the outing was reached in the 5th inning after a 3 run shot from Alonso leaving the O's up 5-3. A blatant missed call for a swinging strike was missed by home plate umpire in the 5th, allowing Holiday to get on and eventually score. Freddy Peralta has continued to show brief flashes of dominance and clutch when faced with adversity but loss of control and untimely hits and HRs against him have been his Achilles heel. Mateo throws an untimely error to allow Mayo to move from 2nd to 3rd, allowing a sac fly to score a runner. The Rays offense fell asleep after the 3rd inning, getting only 1 hit. Aranda enters the game in the 8th to rally with Vilade on, only to strike out swinging. Overall the pitching staff cannot continue to allow the volume of runs to score and for the offense to keep up. The frustration is reiterated by the normally relaxed Kevin Cash, getting ejected for a baffling call made by the umpires, which in turn changed the dynamic of the game quite a bit.