Thursday, 4 a.m.
He can be an unbridled colt, wild and reckless. He is an adventure on the base paths, an untamed force at the plate.
But, really, how many Rays do you want at the plate when the game is on the line?
Arozarena doubled to right field with the bases loaded in the 10th inning Wednesday night, allowing the Rays to escape with a 6-4 win despite a sloppy effort against the Baltimore Orioles.
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It was a common sight. In 32 career games against the Orioles, Arozarena is hitting .378 with 32 RBI and 13 home runs. This time, he drove a pitch off of all-star reliever Jorge Lopez over the head of Anthony Santander to drive in two runs to give the Rays the win.
“Really impressive by Randy," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "Lopez is putting together a tremendous year. He’s nasty from the side. I’m sure he’s nastier at the plate but Randy stayed on the ball and drove it over Santander’s head to pick up those runs."
The victory didn't come without some hiccups. Rays’ pitchers hit three batters, a run scored on a wild pitch and another one on an error. Reliever Colin Poche blew the save for the second straight night, giving up a game-tying home run to Jorge Mateo in the ninth inning.
"You feel for Colin a little bit," Cash said. "The pitch was up where he wanted it. Matteo just did a good job of getting to it and knocking it out of the park."
The Rays got three hits from Yandy Diaz, two from Arozarena and two from Luke Raley.
Drew Rasmussen started but went just 4 2/3 innings.
"My inability to throw strikes and put people away was frustrating," Rasmussen said..
The Rays and Orioles play again today at 12:35 p.m. Ryan Yarbrough will start for the Rays against Jordan Lyles.