Don’t call it a comeback.
With such an eventful day on the business side of things, did we expect anything less?
Once the Rays went down 8-0 after Taj Bradley game up seven runs, six of them earned. Some flipped over to the Arkansas-LSU College World Series game. I am some.
Over the course of 162, the Rays are bound to run into a few clunkers — or so I thought.
Once the Rays put up a crooked number in the third by way of a Christopher Morel RBI double and a Jake Mangum 2 RBI single, I flipped back over.
In the bottom of the 5th, Junior Caminero delivered an RBI single to cut the lead in half to 8-4. Plenty of ballgame left, can the Rays really do it?
In the bottom of the sixth, the levee broke.
Taylor Walls tripled in Jose Caballero, and Yandy Diaz singled in Walls.
With the score at 8-6 with Diaz on first, Kevin Cash summoned Brandon Lowe to pinch hit against Yennier Cano. Lowe went 401 feet to right-center field for his 15th round-tripper of the season to bring the Rays even to Baltimore at 8-8.
In the seventh, Caminero wrapped up a 4-5 night with the go-ahead single to score Diaz, and Josh Lowe and Jonathan Aranda both had RBI singles to complete the onslaught at 12-8.
The bullpen did a thankless deed tonight, going 7.2 innings of one run baseball to close the door on the Birds and keep the offense in the ballgame.
Edwin Uceta, Garrett Cleavinger, Mason Montgomery, Forrest Whitley, and Pete Fairbanks all put up zeroes, with Montgomery getting the victory and Kevin Kelly recording a hold.
Every Ray that started reached base safely for the first time this season.
Tomorrow is the rubber match of the series, with Drew Rasmussen toeing the slab opposite former Ray Charlie Morton. Game time is at 7:35 PM from George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, FL.
