O'Neill Walks It Off as Baltimore Survives Tampa's Ninth-Inning Rally

Baltimore needed extra innings to put away Tampa Bay, 4-3, after Junior Caminero's infield single in the ninth erased a two-run deficit and swung the home win probability from 22% to 62% in one swing. Tyler O'Neill ended it in the tenth, singling to center to score Cowser and send the Orioles home with a hard-earned win.

The game looked like it might be a comfortable Baltimore victory through six innings, but it took a full ten frames to settle. Leody Taveras got things started in the second, singling to left to score Henderson and put Baltimore on top 1-0. Tampa Bay answered immediately in the third when Palacios scored on a pickoff error by catcher Narváez, knotting it at one. Baltimore then seized control with back-to-back home runs: Pete Alonso went deep to right center at 392 feet in the fifth to make it 2-1, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand followed with a 418-foot shot to left center in the sixth to push the lead to 3-1. Tampa clawed one back in the same inning when Mullins tripled to center and Hicks scored, trimming it to 3-2.

That's where the score sat until the ninth, and that's where this game turned completely. With Baltimore three outs from a win, Caminero reached on an infield single to third, Mateo scored, and Aranda moved to second — just like that, it was 3-3. The win probability swung from 22% to 62% in Tampa Bay's favor on that single play. The Orioles' bullpen had held for innings, and the Rays had found a way back with the minimum.

Baltimore's offense answered in the tenth. O'Neill's single to center scored Cowser, and that was the ballgame — 4-3, final. On the mound, the story of the night was the contrast between the two starters. Ian Seymour was sharp for Tampa Bay, going 6.0 innings and striking out 9 while allowing 3 earned runs. Kyle Bradish matched the innings but walked 4 and struck out only 3, allowing 2 earned runs — a workable line, but it looks like Seymour was the better pitcher on the night and still ended up on the losing side. Casey Legumina was dominant out of the Tampa Bay bullpen, throwing 2.0 hitless innings with 4 strikeouts, and Cam Sanders gave Baltimore a clean inning with 2 punchouts of his own. Aranda went 3-for-5 for Tampa Bay and gave the Rays every opportunity, but it wasn't enough. Alonso's 3-for-5 night with the home run was the offensive anchor Baltimore needed to survive.