Rays Rally From 6-4 Down to Steal It in the Seventh
Tampa Bay trailed by two heading into the seventh inning and scored three runs on a pair of singles to walk off with a 7-6 win over Baltimore. The Rays needed every bit of that comeback after Jorge Mateo's two-run homer in the fourth swung the win probability from 41% to 68% in their favor — the moment that, in hindsight, defined the game.
This one was a home run derby with a late-game gut punch attached. Coby Mayo got Baltimore on the board first with a 468-foot shot to left center in the second — a legitimate missile. Tampa Bay answered in the third when Yandy Diaz went the other way for 396 feet to tie it. Then the fourth inning happened, and it happened fast. Christian Encarnacion-Strand singled to center to score two and push Baltimore ahead 3-1, but Tampa Bay came right back: Ryan Vilade went 428 feet to center to cut it to one, and then Mateo's 406-foot two-run shot to left center flipped the scoreboard entirely — 3-4 Rays, just like that. That swing, from 41% to 68% Tampa Bay win probability, looks like the moment Baltimore never fully recovered from, even when they tried.
The Orioles weren't done, though. Pete Alonso tied it with a solo shot to right in the fifth, and then Encarnacion-Strand — who finished 3-for-5 with a homer, 4 RBI, and a run scored — put Baltimore back in front with a two-run blast to left that made it 6-4. At that point, the story of the night appeared to be Encarnacion-Strand carrying Baltimore on his back. It wasn't. Brandon Young, who came on in relief and threw 4.0 innings allowing 8 hits and 4 earned runs, left enough damage in the tank for Tampa Bay to exploit late.
The seventh inning is where it all unraveled for Baltimore. Aranda singled to left to score Walls and bring Diaz to second — suddenly 6-5. Then DeLuca singled to left, scoring both Aranda and Diaz, and just like that it was 7-6 Rays. Two singles. Three runs. Game over. On the pitching side, Shane McClanahan went 3.1 innings for Tampa Bay, allowing 4 hits and 3 earned runs — not a dominant outing — but Cam Booser followed with 1.1 scoreless innings and 3 strikeouts to bridge the gap. For Baltimore, Cam Sanders was sharp in his 2.0 innings — no hits, no runs, 3 strikeouts — but the bullpen couldn't hold a two-run lead when it mattered most. Six home runs in a game that ended on back-to-back singles is about as baseball as it gets, and the Rays earned this one the hard way.