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 Delmon Young, J.J. Hardy and Chris Davis hit consecutive homers
in the fifth inning, and Baltimore banged out five homers in all to
end a three-game losing streak with a 9-1 victory over the Tampa Bay
Rays.
The Orioles (74-55) simply looked to turn the page when they left
the Windy City after the series with the Cubs ended on Sunday.
Baltimore played more like it has throughout the season on Monday,
banging out 14 hits in the opener of this four-game series with
Tampa Bay (64-67).
Center fielder Adam Jones shrugged off the short skid.
"It's three games; hip-hip-hooray," Jones said. "It's not the end of
the world. People around here [are] thinking it's the end of the
world because you lose three games. The strength of this team is the
ability to forget. Something happens, forget it, move on."
The Orioles did just that in this game. Baltimore hit two in a row
and three homers in a row in the same game for the first time since
the club came to town 60 years ago. The Orioles lead the major
leagues with 168 homers.
First came the back-to-back shots in the third from right fielder
Nick Markakis (two-run) and first baseman Steve Pearce (solo). After
that came the six-run fifth where the Orioles got the three
consecutive shots from left fielder Young (three-run), shortstop
Hardy (solo) and third baseman Davis (solo).
That put the Orioles up and in command, 9-1.
"They beat us up, give them credit, they beat us up," Rays manager
Joe Maddon said. "They weren't fouling it off. They weren't missing
it. Those balls were big fly balls."
Tampa Bay starter Jake Odorizzi (9-11), who had won seven of his
last 11 starts, gave up four of the home runs. He had allowed just
one homer in his last four starts, but the right-hander surrendered
back-to-back shots in third and fifth and gave up eight runs on 11
hits in four-plus innings.
"It's good because it seemed like y'all went in panic mode when we
got swept in Chicago," Young said. "We weren't scoring many runs,
but it happens and then we're back in our division at home facing a
guy we've seen before, a team we play, we know their tendencies and
everything."
Young finished 3-for-3 with three RBIs and one run scored. He was a
triple short of the cycle and reached base all four times up,
including a second-inning walk.
The power display helped the Orioles keep their six-game lead over
the Yankees in the American League East as New York beat Kansas
City, 8-1.
The home runs also helped Orioles starter Chris Tillman (11-5) win
his fourth consecutive decision. He gave up one run on three hits in
seven innings and now hasn't lost in his last eight starts.
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"I think mechanically I'm pretty sound, and I'm able to repeat my
delivery, so it translates, and I get to throw my pitches for
strikes," Tillman said. "That's important."
Tillman also got some help from Jones in the sixth as he made a
leaping catch at the fence to rob designated hitter Evan Longoria of
a three-run homer. Jones then threw back to second to complete a
double play.
The Rays (64-67) manufactured a run -- with help from a Baltimore
error -- for a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning. Shortstop
Yunel Escobar led off with an infield single and went to third when
Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop mishandled a throw on catcher
Jose Molina's grounder.
That put runners at the corners with no outs. Third baseman Sean
Rodriguez then grounded into a double play that scored Escobar.
Markakis hit his two-run homer in the bottom of the inning -- ending
his 0-for-21 skid -- followed by the Pearce solo blast that gave the
Orioles a 3-1 lead, and they never trailed again.
Hardy said that his teammates were simply look to forget Chicago and
move on - and they did just that.
"We had three rough games at Wrigley, but honestly we came in today
and I don't feel like anyone was even thinking about that," Hardy
said. "Except everyone else. Everyone else was kind of pressing, but
I don't think any players were."
 NOTES: Orioles 3B Manny Machado will undergo right knee surgery
Wednesday in Los Angeles. He hopes to be back late in the season or
possibly the playoffs. ... The Rays were waiting to hear from Major
League Baseball on their protest of Saturday's game. Manager Joe
Maddon said he sent a narrative, and the team sent something, but he
was not sure when they would get an answer. ... Maddon said he
alleviated SS Yunel Escobar's fears of going to another team. Word
had leaked out about Escobar being claimed on waivers, reportedly by
the Oakland A's, and the skipper said his shortstop was upset, but
Maddon told him he would remain with the Rays.
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