TAMPA, Fla. (Interstat) — The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Baltimore Orioles 4-1 on Tuesday, May 19, at George Steinbrenner Field before 13,956 fans, extending their winning streak to six games. Tampa Bay starter Griffin Jax struck out six over five innings, allowing three hits and one earned run to earn the win. Kevin Kelly (3-1) pitched a scoreless sixth inning in relief, and Bryan Baker recorded his 13th save with a hitless ninth. Yandy Díaz drove in two runs, doubling home Jonathan Aranda in the first to tie the game. Richie Palacios doubled in Carson Williams in the eighth, and Jonny DeLuca singled home Palacios. Baltimore took a 1-0 lead in the first but managed only four hits. Kyle Bradish (2-6) allowed four hits and two earned runs in 5⅓ innings, taking the loss. The Orioles grounded into two double plays and fell to 21-28. Tampa Bay improved to 32-15. The game lasted 2 hours, 39 minutes. The teams close the series Wednesday.

TAMPA, Fla. (Interstat) — The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Baltimore Orioles 4-1 on Tuesday night at George Steinbrenner Field, riding a two-run eighth inning to secure their second consecutive victory over the Orioles and improve to 32-15 on the season. Baltimore, which dropped to 21-28, grabbed an early lead in the top of the first inning when Taylor Ward launched a two-run homer to left field. It was Ward’s second home run of the season and gave the Orioles a 1-0 advantage. The lead was short-lived, as Tampa Bay answered in the bottom of the first. After Chandler Simpson and Junior Caminero struck out, Jonathan Aranda walked. Yandy Díaz followed with a double to center field, scoring Aranda to tie the game at 1-1. Neither team scored again until the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Díaz stepped to the plate and hit his eighth home run of the season, a solo shot to center field that gave the Rays a 2-1 lead. The Orioles managed only four hits in the game and grounded into two double plays, the second of which came in the top of the sixth when Gunnar Henderson singled but was erased on a double play grounder by Adley Rutschman. The game’s decisive moment came in the bottom of the eighth. After Junior Caminero struck out and Jonathan Aranda flied out, Yandy Díaz was hit by a pitch. Carson Williams, running for Díaz, advanced as Richie Palacios doubled to right field, scoring Williams and giving the Rays a 3-1 lead. Palacios advanced to third on the play. Jonny DeLuca followed with a single to center field that scored Palacios, extending the lead to 4-1. Cedric Mullins struck out to end the inning. Kevin Kelly earned the win, pitching a scoreless seventh inning and allowing one hit while striking out one. Kelly improved to 3-1 on the season. Kyle Bradish took the loss for Baltimore, falling to 2-6 after allowing two runs on five hits over five and two-thirds innings. Bradish struck out seven and walked three. Bryan Baker recorded his 13th save of the season by pitching a perfect ninth inning, striking out one batter. Baltimore’s offense was limited throughout the night. Ward’s home run was one of only four hits for the Orioles, who also got singles from Rutschman, Colton Cowser and Henderson. Tampa Bay managed seven hits, with Díaz leading the way with two hits, including a double and a home run. Palacios contributed a double and an RBI, while DeLuca added a single and an RBI. Chandler Simpson had a single, and Caminero doubled before being erased on a caught stealing in the seventh inning. The Orioles had opportunities early but could not capitalize. In the top of the first, after Ward’s homer, Rutschman singled, but Pete Alonso grounded into a double play to end the inning. In the top of the third, Cowser singled with one out, but Ward and Henderson struck out to strand him. In the top of the sixth, Henderson singled with one out, but Rutschman grounded into another double play. Baltimore did not advance a runner past first base after the first inning. Tampa Bay’s bullpen was effective, with Ian Seymour pitching one and one-third scoreless innings, striking out one, and Casey Legumina adding two-thirds of an inning with one strikeout. The Rays’ defense also turned two double plays, both started by shortstop Taylor Walls. The game was played before a crowd of 13,956 at George Steinbrenner Field and lasted 2 hours, 39 minutes. The victory continued Tampa Bay’s strong play after a 16-6 win over the Orioles on Monday. The Rays have won six of their last nine games. Baltimore, meanwhile, has lost two straight and four of its last six. The Orioles’ recent struggles include a 13-3 loss at Washington on Saturday and a 6-2 defeat at Tampa Bay on Monday. Tampa Bay’s offense has been productive in the series, scoring 20 runs in the first two games. Díaz’s home run was his team-leading eighth of the season, and Palacios has been a consistent contributor out of the leadoff spot. The Rays will look to complete a three-game sweep in Wednesday’s series finale, with Baltimore sending another pitcher to the mound in an effort to avoid a third consecutive loss. The Orioles will return home after the series to host Detroit on Friday before a three-game set against Tampa Bay later in the week. Tampa Bay travels to New York on Friday for a three-game series against the Yankees, then returns to Baltimore for another three-game set beginning Monday. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Tampa Bay Rays 7, Baltimore Orioles 4. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Tampa Bay with a 59.20 percent probability to win. Baltimore had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 5 went over the over/under line of 7.5.

TAMPA, Fla. (Interstat) — The Tampa Bay Rays host the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night at George Steinbrenner Field, with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 p.m. under partly cloudy skies and a temperature of 89 degrees. Tampa Bay (30-15) enters with the best record in the American League and aims to build on a 16-4 win over Baltimore in Monday’s series opener. The Rays have won four of their last six games, including Sunday’s 6-3 victory over Miami. Baltimore (21-26) has lost six of its last nine games but snapped a five-game skid with a 7-3 win at Washington on Sunday. The Orioles will start right-hander Kyle Bradish (2-5, 4.28 ERA) or right-hander Griffin Jax (1-2, 3.86 ERA) in a bullpen game. Bradish has allowed at least four runs in three of his last four outings. Jax worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings Sunday. Tampa Bay has not announced a starter. Players to watch: Baltimore shortstop Gunnar Henderson went 4-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs on Sunday, but has just four hits in his last 27 at-bats overall. Tampa Bay right-hander Drew Rasmussen (3-1, 3.25 ERA) threw 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball in Sunday’s win over Miami and has posted quality starts in three of his last four outings. Recent history: The Rays have won three of four meetings this season, outscoring Baltimore 29-18. The Orioles were blown out 16-4 on Monday, their largest loss of the year. Scheduled starters: Tuesday marks the second game of a three-game series and the start of a stretch that sees the teams play seven times in 10 days, including a four-game set in Baltimore beginning May 25. Betting line: Baltimore is a slight favorite at minus-1.5 on the run line. The over/under is 7.5 runs. Interstat’s game simulator projects a 7-4 Rays win. Next up: The series concludes Wednesday, then the Rays travel to New York for three games against the Yankees, while the Orioles return home to host Detroit for three.