Rays Back Archer With 3 HRs In 6-3 Victory Over Orioles
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Chris Archer pitched six shutout innings, and the Tampa Bay Rays hit three home runs in a 6-3 victory over the fading Baltimore Orioles on Monday night.
Asdrubal Cabrera and Evan Longoria connected off Wei-Yin Chen (8-7), and Tim Beckham added a solo shot against Brad Brach. Logan Forsythe had three hits for the Rays, coming within a home run of the cycle.
Archer (12-10) gave up four hits, walked three and struck out six to earn his first win against Baltimore in seven starts since June 7, 2013. The right-hander finished the month with 50 strikeouts, tying the club record for August held by Scott Kazmir (2007).
Archer left after throwing 113 pitches and with Tampa Bay ahead 6-0.
Brad Boxberger, the third Rays reliever, worked the ninth for his 33rd save.
The defeat was the 11th in 12 games for the Orioles, who have been held to three runs or fewer in each of those losses. Manager Buck Showalter put together a revamped lineup in an effort to shake the team out of its funk, but moving Manny Machado to shortstop and starting all three catchers failed to achieve the desired result.
Machado, a third baseman who won a Gold Glove in 2013, started at shortstop for the first time in the big leagues. He made an excellent play in the sixth, ranging far to his right to make a backhand pickup in the hole before making an off-balance, one-hop throw that retired Rene Rivera.
Showalter got his three catchers in the lineup by placing Caleb Joseph behind the plate, shifting Matt Wieters to first base and using Steve Clevenger as the designated hitter.
Clevenger drove in two runs, but Baltimore stranded 11 and was 3 for 11 with runners in scoring position.
Chen allowed five runs and nine hits in 4 2-3 innings. The left-hander was 4-0 in seven starts since July 21.
Forsythe singled with two outs in the fourth, and Cabrera followed with his 10th home run to make it 3-0. A bases-empty drive by Longoria capped a two-run fifth, and Beckham led off the sixth with his seventh homer for a 6-0 lead.
A two-run single by Clevenger highlighted a three-run seventh against Matt Andriese.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Rays: CF Kevin Kiermaier left in the third inning with a mild right ankle sprain. He leapt for a sensational, home-run-robbing catch of a drive by Machado in the bottom of the first. Before the game, manager Kevin Cash called Kiermaier "the best center fielder in the game."
Orioles: Pitching prospect Dylan Bundy has been cleared by Dr. James Andrews to start a throwing program. Bundy has a calcium buildup in his right shoulder.
ON DECK
Rays: Drew Smyly (1-2, 3.82 ERA) makes his fourth start since returning from the 60-day DL on Tuesday night. He's 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA lifetime against Baltimore.
Orioles: Chris Tillman (9-9, 4.58 ERA) takes a third stab at his 10th win of the season.
(Copyright 2015 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
