Orioles dominated by Rays, 7-1, fall into tie for AL East lead with 4th straight loss: ‘Nobody said this was going to be easy’

Tampa Bay Rays pinch-hitter Harold Ramírez launched a ball to left field, then flipped his bat. Like the Orioles, both came falling back to earth. The three-run home run broke open what became a 7-1 victory for Tampa Bay, erasing Baltimore’s lead in the American League East and leaving the teams tied atop the division with two games left in their weekend series and about two weeks left in the regular season.

In another bereft night for the offense, the Orioles recorded only two hits. The first did not come until the sixth inning, when . It’s the first time the Orioles (91-56) haven’t stood alone atop the AL East since July 21, when they suffered their lone loss in a four-game series at Tampa Bay.

They entered Sunday with a four-game lead on the Rays, but Baltimore has since tied a season high with four straight losses, including dropping the first two in this four-game home series with Tampa Bay. “Nobody said this was going to be easy,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “These things happen, and you’ve got to just stay positive.

Tomorrow’s a new day, and still got a lot of baseball left. ” Friday’s loss came in front of an announced attendance of 43,359, with and the vital matchup drawing the third-largest crowd at Camden Yards this season. Orioles starter Jack Flaherty seemed to feed off the crowd early, dominating through three innings.

But Brandon Lowe, a University of Maryland product, opened the fourth with a home run. It sparked a stretch in which six of nine Rays (92-57) reached base against Flaherty. With right-hander Jacob Webb allowing one of the two runners he inherited from Flaherty with no outs in the fifth to score, Flaherty gave up three runs over four innings.

Acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals at last month’s trade deadline for three players Baseball America ranked among Baltimore’s top 20 prospects, Flaherty has gone fewer than five innings in three straight starts. He has a 7.

11 ERA in seven outings with Baltimore. Both he and his team are now trying to shake out of slumps. “Just remember who you are,” Flaherty said.

“They’ve been good all year for a reason. I’ve only been here for a month and some change, but they’ve been good all year for a reason, and every team’s going to go through it at some point, but just remember who you are, remember how you got to this point. ” DL Hall allowed the first three batters to reach in the sixth, and Bryan Baker let two of them score when Ramirez walloped his first pitch.

Only Kjerstad’s home run, coming on a 1-1 cutter from Zach Eflin to open the bottom of the sixth, prevented a shutout. Eflin was otherwise dominant, striking out eight while going seven innings on 84 pitches. “I don’t think he threw a ball where he didn’t want to the entire night,” Hyde said.

After finishing with 15 strikeouts in Thursday’s opener, the Orioles struck out 13 times Friday. They have scored six runs during their four-game losing streak after scoring 10 or more in four of the preceding five games. The first two games of the losing streak came against starters who had struggled immensely in St.

Louis’ Adam Wainwright and Drew Rom, the latter of whom was one of the prospects traded for Flaherty. But each picked up the win against Baltimore, marking Wainwright’s 199th and Rom’s first in the majors. Across the four games, the Orioles have gone 18-for-122 (.

148) with 43 strikeouts and 12 walks. That includes going 2-for-24 with runners in scoring position, situations in which they led the majors in OPS entering the losing streak. It’s only the third time this season they have scored three or fewer runs in four consecutive games, with the most recent case overlapping with their only other four-game losing streak in early July.

Both the Orioles and Rays are likely bound for the playoffs, but Baltimore’s focus remains on winning the AL East, which would allow it to skip the wild-card round and provide home-field advantage in the postseason. Still, Cleveland’s victory over the Texas Rangers dropped the Orioles’ magic number for a playoff spot to three, though that outcome does little to ease the sting of Friday’s result at Camden Yards. “Every team goes through ups and downs,” said catcher Adley Rutschman, who is 1-for-15 during the skid.

“Tomorrow’s a new day, and we’re going to try and bounce back. ” Saturday, 7:05 p. m.

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