Jacob Faria points to the ball in his no-decision./STEVEN MUNCIE
Sunday, 2 a.m.
The biggest thing about Jumbo Diaz, it turns out, is his jumbo-sized ERA.
Diaz gave up four runs in two innings of relief Saturday as the Baltimore Orioles snapped a three-game losing streak by the Rays. For the Orioles, it stopped a streak of 20 straight games in which they had allowed five runs or more.
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Smith tries to avoid getting out./STEVEN MUNCIE
Pitcher Dylan Bundy led the way for the O's, holding the Rays to three runs and five hits. Two of those hits came in the third, when Corey Dickerson and Evan Longoria had back-to-back homers. It was the 10th time this season the Rays hit back-to-backs, a franchise record that leads the AL.
“The story of the game was Dylan Bundy,” Rays' manager Kevin Cash said. “He did a nice job quieting our hot bats. Had everything going. He had a good fastball that he was getting ahead early with and showed the slider and changeup to both. He made it difficult for us. It was nice to piece together that inning with Corey’s home run and then Longo back-to-back, but then after that, obviously, a quiet day.”
Evan Longoria tied the game with his third-inning homer./STEVEN MUNCIE
Jacob Faria was stopped in his attempt to go 4-0. He pitches six innings and allowed three and was held to a no-decision.
“Jake did another really nice job for us,” Cash said. “You take away, not even the home run from Castillo, it was more the 2-2 pitch to get there. He made a pitch that you wouldn’t want to throw in that situation to put him to 3-2. It looks like he threw a little slider that Castillo stayed in on and hit the ball out of the ballpark. Other than that, I thought he did a really good job. The one inning starts with a leadoff walk. I sound like a broken record saying that. Then Jumbo makes some pitches to Trumbo. I think he had him 1-2 and he laid off some sliders that didn’t seem to have too much bite and he kind of grooved one there for the big hit.”
Diaz had thrown four straight scoreless appearances until running into trouble Saturday. He gave up a two-run double to Mark Trumbo and a two-run homer to Trey Mancini to break open the game.
“I was trying to do my best, but I hung one pitch and he hit the ball very, very well,”
Wilson Ramos returned to action for the Rays./STEVEN MUNCIE
Diaz said. “I’m trying to attack the hitters and work with my slider. I feel comfortable with my slider right now. I need to do my job and keep guys off the bases.
Dickerson wasn't that elated about the back-to-back home run record.
“It’s a coincidence” Dickerson said. “A lot of guys having a good approach at the plate. A lot of people in our lineup are able to go deep, that’s a unique thing. A lot of lineups don’t have that. Someone can go deep any night, any part of the lineup. I didn’t even know that so that’s pretty cool.”
Faria wasn't satisfied with his outing, either.
“The goal here is to go into the 7th and past the 7th,” Faria said. “It was a good sign to get through some stuff, but ultimately we didn’t come out as a W as a team so it’s not really worth it. I need to work on execution and try not to be too fine, but not leave pitches over the middle of the plate to such a good hitting team.”
Corey Dickerson hit a two-run homer..STEVEN MUNCIE
Catcher Wilson Ramos joined the Rays' lineup for the first time this season. He had a single.
Orioles' manager Buck Showalter downplayed the O's ending their five-run streak.
“It’s all irrelevant,” Showalter said. “I know people look for numbers to see some trend and I didn’t bring it up until you guys brought it up a few days ago. It’s one thing to identify a problem, it’s another to try and solve it. We’re in the business of trying to solve issues. You can start by looking at them and realizing you have them, but I don’t think anyone has to tell us that we’ve had problems with our starting pitching.”
The Rays conclude their series against the Orioles today when Jake Odorizzi pitches against Chris Tillman.
Jose Alvarado took his third loss for the Rays./STEVEN MUNCIE
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