Josh Lowe and Luke Raley each hit solo home runs and Shane McClanahan pitched six shutout innings to lead the Tampa Bay Rays to a 3-0 win over the host Baltimore Orioles on Monday.
McClanahan (7-0) was dominant, allowing just four hits with seven strikeouts and four walks as the Rays opened a three-game series against the Orioles by winning for the ninth time in their past 11 games.
The Orioles, who have dropped their past three games, wasted a quality start by Kyle Gibson (4-2). He allowed just two runs on six hits to go along with four strikeouts and two walks before being relieved by Bryan Baker after giving up a lead-off single to Raley to open the seventh.
Baker walked Francisco Mejia and Yandy Diaz to load the bases before Wander Franco’s sacrifice fly scored Raley, though Diaz was thrown out at second trying to advance on the play.
Franco went 2-for-3, while Raley went 2-for-4 with a solo homer in the ninth inning to cap the scoring.
Austin Hays, who went 2-for-4, was the lone Oriole to record multiple hits.
After Lowe’s solo homer gave the Rays a 1-0 lead in the second, McClanahan made the lead stand until relieved by Colin Poche to open the seventh.
Poche worked around a two-out single and double to keep the shutout intact before Kevin Kelly pitched a perfect eighth.
Jason Adam worked around Ramon Urias’ two-out single and tossed three strikeouts for his fourth save of the season.
The Orioles got a runner past second base just twice.
In the sixth, Anthony Santander hit a one-out double to left and took third on Jorge Mateo’s groundout. But McClanahan got out of the inning unscathed by getting James McCann to ground out to shortstop.
In the seventh, Ryan McKenna hit a two-out single to left and took third on Hays’ double to left, but Poche struck out Adley Rutschman to end the threat.
–Field Level Media