TAMPA -- On Friday night, the Rays jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in a lopsided victory over the Orioles. They had to do things the hard way Saturday night, falling behind early and offering little resistance against Baltimore starter Dean Kremer.
But they won the Rays’ way -- or at least the way they so often have this season.
Down by a run entering the eighth inning, the Rays used their bat-to-ball skills, patience and speed to pull ahead and pull out a 4-3 win against the Orioles at George M. Steinbrenner Field. It was the Rays’ 22nd comeback win of the season and their American League-leading seventh when trailing after seven innings.
“It's kind of what we did when we had that stretch of six weeks where we were just kind of running through everybody,” starter Zack Littell said after his 13th quality start of the season. “It's kind of what we did well: Smelling blood in the water, and then just capitalized when we needed to.”
Two singles, two walks, three stolen bases, a wild pitch and an error? Yep, that’s the kind of small-ball rally they made part of their brand when they were at their best in the first half. They got back to that style to secure their first series win since June 24-26, snapping a five-series losing streak with their first consecutive victories since that set in Kansas City.
“I know how much of a threat we can be on the bases,” infielder José Caballero said. We just needed to reach base in that inning and make things happen.”
There’s arguably no greater threat to make things happen than rookie speedster Chandler Simpson, and he had his fingerprints all over the final innings.
Shortstop Ha-Seong Kim started Tampa Bay’s winning rally with a leadoff single against reliever Seranthony Domínguez then stole second base. Kim advanced to third on a deep out by Matt Thaiss, putting him in position to score the tying run.
And Simpson came through.
After fouling off a couple 99-100 mph fastballs, Simpson got a two-strike sweeper over the middle of the plate and punched it to center field for an RBI single. With two strikes, Simpson said he was just looking for a pitch in the strike zone, anything he could put in play to bring home Kim.
“I just know it's less than two outs, so just trying to put the bat on the ball,” said Simpson, who’s batting .316. “Just trying to be a tough out … just to score that run by any means possible.”
The game-tying single extended Simpson’s hitting streak to 18 games, the longest active run in the Majors, the longest by a rookie since Masyn Winn’s 18-gamer last May, and tied for the fourth-longest in franchise history. He quickly stole second, his 27th steal of the season, tying Rocco Baldelli’s franchise rookie record.
“It's not easy what he's doing. His skill-set, though, is pretty consistent,” manager Kevin Cash said. “It's been consistent since he was drafted, and every level he's gone up, he has shown obviously speed and the contact ability.”
Simpson moved to third on a wild pitch by Domínguez, who loaded the bases with back-to-back walks to Caballero and Yandy Díaz. The Orioles went to their bullpen, bringing in lefty Gregory Soto to face Jonathan Aranda.
The All-Star put the ball on the ground, scoring the speedy Simpson, then Caballero dashed home when first baseman Ryan O’Hearn made a wild throw past catcher Jacob Stallings. Caballero said he was running on contact, and he knew the play could develop into a scoring opportunity for him when O’Hearn turned around to throw the ball home.
“I saw the ball going away from the catcher, so I just hustled my way home,” Caballero said.
Was there any possibility that Michael Johns, coaching third base while Brady Williams recovers from knee surgery, could have stopped him?
“Oh, no. No way,” Caballero said, smiling. “No. No chance.”
Caballero’s baserunning turned out to be critical when closer Pete Fairbanks gave up one in the ninth. But it seemed fitting that it was Simpson, the embodiment of the Rays’ speed-and-contact success, who called game.
With two outs and Cedric Mullins on second base, Jackson Holliday smashed a 105.8 mph fly ball to deep center field. Holliday said he “thought it had a chance” to get out, but it looked more likely to hit high off the fence. Simpson eased back, leaped and made the game-ending catch against the wall.
“I just know it was against the fence,” Simpson said with a smile when asked if he’d robbed a go-ahead homer. “Had to jump for it, and the ball was in my glove when the play ended. ... I'm glad we got the W.”