Colton Cowser’s two-run home run in the 13th inning was his second walk-off home run in as many days as the Baltimore Orioles overcame the Tampa Bay Rays for a 9-7 victory to begin a three-game series Monday afternoon.
Cedric Mullins hit a go-ahead single in the top of the 13th against his former team before Nick Fortes extended Tampa Bay’s lead to 7-5 with a sacrifice fly. Then the Orioles rallied.
Leody Taveras started the bottom of the 13th with a run-scoring double and Jackson Holliday’s sacrifice fly tied the score again. Cowser homered off Jesse Scholtens (5-3).
Cowser hit a ninth-inning home run Sunday to deliver a win in the first game of a doubleheader against Detroit.
Pete Alonso and Blaze Alexander each notched three hits for the Orioles. Dietrich Enns (3-0) pitched the top of the 13th for the win. Orioles starter Kyle Bradish allowed one run on five hits in six innings.
Jonathan Aranda and Victor Mesa Jr. homered and Chandler Simpson delivered three hits for the Rays, who were coming off a shutout loss a day earlier to the New York Yankees.
Aranda gave the Rays a brief 12th-inning lead with a sacrifice fly, but the Orioles tied the game on Gunnar Henderson’s grounder. Cowser was initially called out at the plate until the Orioles challenged the ruling and the run counted.
Both teams appeared in good shape in the 11th inning. Mesa, playing in his first big-league game of the year, hit a two-run home run. Mesa was playing for Triple-A Durham prior to a promotion announced Sunday after Jonny DeLuca went on the injured list.
The Orioles started the bottom of the 11th with Pete Alonso’s single, and a run scored on left fielder Simpson’s throwing error. Alonso went to second and scored on Jeremiah Jackson’s single for a 4-4 tie.
Jackson advanced to second on his hit before moving to third on Taveras’ sacrifice bunt. After Alexander was intentionally walked, Jackson Holliday struck out and Cowser was out on a fly ball to extend the game.
Rays starter Shane McClanahan baffled the Orioles for five innings. McClanahan left with one out in the sixth after hitting Henderson with a pitch and then walking Adley Rutschman.
Hunter Bigge entered and picked off Henderson before an Alonso walk and a Samuel Basallo groundout.
Alexander singled in Taveras in the seventh to tie it 1-1. Taveras had walked, stole second and went to third on an errant pick-off throw from Bigge.
Baltimore went ahead later in the inning when Taylor Ward singled and Alexander scored on right fielder Mesa’s two-out throwing error.
Aranda, who doubled with two outs in the first inning, led off the sixth with his ninth homer of the year.
Neither team scored in the 10th, with Rico Garcia pitching his second inning of the game for Baltimore.
–Field Level Media
