ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — With a comfortable lead in the AL East, the Baltimore Orioles needed to give their top relievers a break more than they needed to beat the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night.
Baltimore got six shutout innings from starter Wei-Yin Chen, but lost 3-0 when the Rays broke through against relievers Ryan Webb and Evan Meeks in the eighth inning.
“We had five (relievers) we weren’t going to use tonight, or couldn’t in some cases because of what we did to beat Cincinnati three times,” explained manager Buck Showalter. “But we didn’t score any runs. They put a goose egg up there, so it doesn’t really matter a whole lot. They pitched a little better than we did.”
Alex Cobb and two relievers combined on a six-hitter for Tampa Bay’s AL-best 19th shutout this season.
The defeat didn’t cost the Orioles in the standings because the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays also lost. Baltimore still has a 9 1/2-game cushion in the division.
Yunel Escobar’s run-scoring single snapped a scoreless tie in the eighth. Cobb didn’t figure in the decision despite going seven innings and allowing two runs or less in his team-record 11th consecutive start. The Rays are 6-5 in those outings.
The right-hander gave up six hits, one walk and struck out six. Brad Boxberger (4-1) fanned two in a perfect eighth, and Jake McGee struck out all three batters he faced for his 16th save.
Evan Longoria and Wil Myers started the eighth inning with consecutive singles off Webb (3-3). Meek walked James Loney before Escobar made it 1-0 with a hard single that went off the glove of second baseman Jonathan Schoop.
Ryan Hanigan extended the lead to 3-0 with a two-run single.
“I liked my stuff today, but sometimes you get a little overexcited and overthrow a pitch or something. Maybe that’s what happened,” said Webb, recalled Tuesday from Triple-A Norfolk. “But I was getting groundballs for the most part. I’m just disappointed in the result.”
The Orioles were coming off a 9-2 homestand.
Chen, bidding for his 15th win, gave up four hits, three walks and struck out three in six innings. His only problem came in the second when the Rays loaded the bases with the help of two walks.
“After that I tried to be more efficient,” Chen said through a translator. “I tried to attack the hitters and not waste any pitches that I don’t need to. I hope I can also do that in future games.”
Cobb got defensive help in the sixth from Myers, who made a diving catch in right field on Chris Davis’ two-out fly with Adam Jones on second.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Orioles: 1B Steve Pearce (abdominal strain) took batting practice and could start Saturday. Pearce, from nearby Lakeland, has five homers in 13 games against the Rays this season. … LHP Andrew Miller (hamstring) felt fine after a bullpen session.
Rays: CF Desmond Jennings (sore left knee) missed his eighth straight game. Ben Zobrist made his second start this season in center.
UP NEXT
Orioles RHP Kevin Gausman (7-7) is 2-1 in his last four starts. Rays LHP Drew Smyly (9-10) is 3-1 with a 1.73 ERA in six starts since being acquired from Detroit on July 31.
TWO MORE FOR ADAM
Jones had two hits and also walked in his 50th multihit game this season. The only outfielders with more are Washington’s Denard Span (52) and Toronto’s Melky Cabrera (51).
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