Orioles rebound from agonizing loss to split series with Rays

TAMPA -- One night after losing an eight-run lead in a gut-wrenching defeat, the Orioles rebounded strongly to defeat the Rays, 4-1, on Thursday night at George M. Steinbrenner Field, earning a split of the four-game series.

Colton Cowser provided the winning margin with a two-out, three-run homer in the sixth inning off reliever Edwin Uceta. It made a winner of Charlie Morton (4-7), who scattered six hits over six efficient innings.

The game was interrupted briefly in the seventh inning when Adley Rutschman pulled a screaming foul line drive that struck Rays pitcher Hunter Bigge in the face as he leaned over the Tampa Bay dugout railing. Paramedics rushed to the scene and administered to Bigge, who gave a thumbs-up signal to the crowd as he was taken away by cart for examination at a local hospital. There was no immediate word on Bigge’s condition.

“I saw it off my bat, and it was really, really scary,’’ Rutschman said. “I’m praying for him and for his recovery. I hope he’s OK. I haven’t really been a part of something like that. You never want to see something like that happen.’’

“It’s terrifying,’’ Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “I mean, we all sit in these dugouts every night and in a lot of ways, you feel like sitting ducks. It’s just really scary for us all. I mean, they [players] are humans.

“In Adley’s case, he’s an incredible human being, so I’d be surprised if he wasn’t [affected]. You see the look on his face a little bit. He was very concerned and definitely affected. We’ll get through it.’’

Locked in a 1-1 game, Rays starter Drew Rasmussen (6-5) surrendered a sixth-inning leadoff single to Gunnar Henderson. After a strikeout of Jordan Westburg, Uceta was summoned and coaxed Ryan O’Hearn into a groundout, then walked Ramon Laureano on five pitches.

Uceta got two quick strikes on Cowser, but his 94 mph fastball was promptly deposited into the right-center-field bleachers. Cowser homered for the third straight game and the fifth time in 12 games since returning from the injured list.

“The big thing coming off the IL is I’m feeling pretty good,’’ Cowser said. “I’m finding the swing again and getting the approach a little more fine-tuned. I really wasn’t expecting that pitch [fastball] there, but that tells me that I was timed up where I needed to be and the approach was right.’’

Cowser said Thursday night’s victory was a perfect response to Wednesday’s 12-8 defeat, when the Orioles led 8-0 in the second inning.

“It’s huge for us,’’ Cowser said. “Last night was kind of a heartbreaker. To be able to come back today and split the series was big for us.’’

Morton, who threw strikes on 60 of his 84 pitches, was a huge factor. He allowed the game’s first run on Danny Jansen’s third-inning RBI single, but he was otherwise in control.

“For the better part of a month now, I’ve been locating well,’’ Morton said. “I’ve been throwing strikes. I think I made some adjustments a while back with my delivery and my timing. Since then, I’ve felt pretty good. My arm’s working well, and I feel pretty efficient with my body.’’

“He pounded the zone,’’ Mansolino said. “When he’s in the zone, he’s throwing strikes. Early in the year, we saw him struggle a little bit. The last seven or eight outings, that is who he has been [very effective].’’

You didn’t have to convince the Rays.

“[Morton] knows how to get people out,’’ Rays left fielder Jake Mangum said. “You don’t pitch this long in the league if you don’t know how to get people out. I was really impressed with his curveball. His curveball was just a really, really good pitch, man. It was different.’’