BALTIMORE -- Nine days ago, the Orioles scored the first eight runs of a game vs. the Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, plating all of them during a huge second-inning rally. Yet, Baltimore went on to lose.
It was time for the O’s to return the favor. In historic fashion, no less.
The Orioles staged an improbable comeback in a 22-8 victory on Friday night at Camden Yards, where the Rays once held a 6-0 lead. Not only that, but Tampa Bay scored its first six runs in the second inning -- an eerily similar coincidence to what happened in the June 18 meeting between the American League East rivals in which the Rays rallied for a 12-8 win.
Baltimore’s season-high 22 runs were tied for its second most in a game in franchise history, one shy of the record. The Orioles also became the first MLB team in at least the past 125 seasons to win by 14 runs in a contest in which it trailed by at least six.
“I don't think you expect when you’re down 6-0 to [Ryan] Pepiot and the Tampa Bay Rays to turn it into whatever that thing just turned into,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “On the same token, I don't think they probably expected last week to be down 8-0 in the second inning and do to us what they did to us.
“Baseball is a crazy game, man. It's poetic in a lot of ways. Tonight was one of those nights.”
The Rays have been one of the hottest teams in baseball, as they entered Friday with an MLB-best 25-9 record since May 20. They appeared well on their way to another win in the second inning when they got solo homers from Jonathan Aranda and Josh Lowe and a three-run blast by Brandon Lowe against Orioles starter Tomoyuki Sugano.
However, the O’s wasted little time chipping away, plating four runs in the bottom of the second on Coby Mayo’s two-run double and a pinch-hit two-run single from Ramón Urías (who entered after Jordan Westburg exited with left hand discomfort). They chased Pepiot, who had a 3.04 ERA in 16 starts, before allowing four runs over 1 2/3 innings.
“I’m proud of our guys, kind of getting slapped in the mouth there and then being able to respond with the four-run inning and then being able to continue to scrap,” said Colton Cowser, who collected a career-high three doubles. “We know what that team’s capable of, so it was one of those things when we got the lead, we wanted to continue to put our foot down and have the throttle going.”
The Orioles took the lead in the fifth when the red-hot Gary Sánchez swatted a two-run homer to make it 8-7. It was the 32-year-old catcher’s fourth home run in 10 games since returning from a right wrist injury. He is hitting .382 (13-for-34) over that span after going 4-for-5 with a season-high-tying four RBIs.
Then, the O’s put their foot down and kept the throttle going.
Baltimore tacked on three runs in the sixth and four in the seventh for insurance. The game was already out of reach when Tampa Bay trailed 15-8, heading to the bottom of the eighth inning.
But the Orioles didn’t let up. Jackson Holliday opened the eighth with his 10th home run of the season, prompting the Rays to send shortstop José Caballero to the mound to get the final three outs of the frame. By the time the inning was over, the O’s had plated another seven runs to further pad their lead.
“It was a complete game tonight,” Mayo said. “We were down early and we were able to fight and battle back, and it ended up being a blowout win in a game that could have gotten away from us pretty easily.”
The scoring was capped by a two-run homer from Mayo, who went deep for the first time in his 37-game MLB career. It certainly wasn’t how the 2020 fourth-round Draft pick and former top prospect envisioned hitting his first home run, but the 23-year-old will take it.
"The only thing that goes into the back of your head is, ‘Oh God, I’m going to strike out to a position player and be 1-for-6 today,’” Mayo said. “But obviously, there’s a flip side of the best result, and that was the homer. It’s just crazy."
It was the first time the Orioles overcame a six-run deficit to win since May 27, 2022, when they recorded a 12-8 victory over the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Boston had a 6-0 lead after two innings and held an 8-2 advantage heading to the seventh.
Baltimore also set season highs in hits (21), extra-base hits (14) and doubles (nine).
Now, the O’s (35-46) will try to build on their best offensive showing of a disappointing first half of the season. Through 81 games, they’re on pace to go 70-92. But if they can keep hitting like this, the second half could be much more enjoyable.
“We played good tonight, we scored some runs off a really good team,” Mansolino said. “We’ve got to do this again tomorrow. We’ve got to come back. It’s 0-0 tomorrow.”