J.J. Hardy's grand slam was the nail in the coffin for Tampa Bay, as the O's cruised to a 9-3 victory over the Rays on Sunday afternoon.
Jake Arrieta picked up his fifth win of the season after a strong six-inning showing...Arrieta (5-1) allowed just two runs on four hits and three walks while striking out seven. Arrieta is now tied with Zach Britton for the team lead in wins and has the most strikeouts (46) by a large margin (Guthrie is second with 32).
The Birds struck first again with a run in the second inning (a Matt Wieters RBI single) and scored twice in the third when Derrek Lee slapped a two-run single to score Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis.
Tampa Bay got as close as 3-2 before Nick Markakis slapped a solo shot in the fifth to pad the lead. The Birds blew the game wide open in the sixth inning...Adam Jones walked, Matt Wieters was intentionally walked after Jones stole second, and Mark Reynolds coaxed another walk to load the bases for J.J. Hardy. Hardy worked a 2-0 count and smashed a fastball over the left field fence to give the Orioles a commanding 8-2 lead.
With the win, the O's (19-20) have now won two straight series and five of their last six contests. The club heads to Boston for a two-game set and has a chance to return to Baltimore with a winning record before taking on the Yankees. Chris Tillman makes his first start at Fenway on Monday night, and Zach Britton will make his debut in Boston on Wednesday...
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