Randy Arozarena homered and drove in four runs for the second straight game to help the visiting Tampa Bay Rays to their seventh straight win, a 10-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday afternoon.
The win completed a three-game sweep for Tampa Bay, which scored 32 runs over the three games, and Arozarena played a big role. He hit two homers and drove in four in Wednesday’s come-from-behind 9-7 victory, and this time, Arozarena went 4-for-6 with four RBIs and three runs scored.
His three-run homer was the key hit in a four-run second inning against Baltimore starter Dean Kremer (0-4) and basically broke the game open. Arozarena finished with the homer plus three more singles as Tampa Bay banged out 18 hits and even stranded 16.
That proved plenty of offensive support for starter Rich Hill (3-1). The 41-year-old left-hander gave up one run on just two hits in six innings. He struck out four and walked four.
Kremer came into the game having fared better this month but couldn’t find good command. He left after three innings, giving up four runs on five hits. The right-hander struck out three but walked four.
The Rays took charge in that four-run second. Joey Wendle started the scoring with a solo homer, and Arozarena blasted his three-run homer later in the inning for a 4-0 lead.
Trey Mancini gave the Orioles some offense with a solo homer off Hill in the fourth. Mancini, the major league leader in RBI (39), sent a solo homer to right-center.
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But Tampa Bay then added two runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh. The Rays got RBIs from Ji-Man Choi (single) and Brandon Lowe (sacrifice fly) in the sixth.
Then, in the seventh, Arozarena (single), Austin Meadows (double) and Yandy Diaz (single) each drove in a run to give the Rays a 9-1 lead. Baltimore put infielder Stevie Wilkerson on the mound in the ninth, and he gave up Wendle’s second solo homer that made it 10-1.
Wendle finished the day 4-for-6, like Arozarena, and sent the Orioles to their 10th loss in 12 games.
–Field Level Media