Orioles send Rays to first three-game losing streak

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Field Level Media
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Jun 20, 2023; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA;  Baltimore Orioles left fielder Aaron Hicks (34) celebrates with second baseman Adam Frazier (12) after he hits a 3-run home run against the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning at Tropicana Field.
Jun 20, 2023; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Baltimore Orioles left fielder Aaron Hicks (34) celebrates with second baseman Adam Frazier (12) after he hits a 3-run home run against the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning at Tropicana Field.
Image: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Aaron Hicks clubbed a three-run homer in the first inning as Baltimore scored four times, and the Orioles staved off a Tampa Bay rally to beat the Rays 8-6 on Tuesday in St. Petersburg, Fla

Hicks finished 2-for-4 and with four RBIs for Baltimore, which built a 7-0 lead through 4 1/2 innings. Anthony Santander went 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs.

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Austin Hays had two doubles and a single and Ryan O'Hearn homered as the Orioles improved to 8-3 in their past 11 games

In five innings, Baltimore starter Kyle Bradish (3-3) yielded two runs on four hits with eight strikeouts and two walks. He won for the first time in six starts. Felix Bautista got four outs for his 20th save.

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The Rays' Isaac Paredes produced two singles, two runs and an RBI while reaching base four times. Pinch hitter Manuel Margot drove in two runs and Luke Raley had two hits, but Tampa Bay lost a third straight game for the first time this season

Rays starter Tyler Glasnow (2-1) allowed six runs on six hits over 4 1/3 innings. He struck out seven and walked two in his fifth start

Baltimore's Gunnar Henderson opened the game by stroking the first pitch down the right field line for a double. Santander made it 1-0 with an RBI single to left two batters later.

After a strikeout and a Hays single, Hicks hooked a 90-mph slider inside the foul pole in right for a three-run shot, his fourth homer of the season, for a 4-0 lead.

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Baltimore's Adley Rutschman managed a two-out walk in the second, and Santander hammered a 1-2 curveball 405 feet to right for his 11th homer and a 6-0 edge.

Following Glasnow's exit in the fifth, O'Hearn blasted Shawn Armstrong's first offering for his sixth homer to push it to 7-0.

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Two batters after Paredes reached base by being hit by a pitch, Francisco Mejia doubled off the wall in right for a run in the home half of the fifth. Wander Franco singled him in to make it 7-2.

Paredes trimmed the gap to 7-3 with an RBI single in the sixth, and Yandy Diaz singled in another.

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Margot's pinch-hit single with the bases full cut it to 7-6 as Baltimore used three relievers in the four-run frame.

Hicks' RBI single in the eighth gave the Orioles an insurance run

--Field Level Media