Jeremy Hellickson shines as Tampa Bay Rays defeat Baltimore Orioles 8-1 – MLB Update
Jeremy Hellickson showed what quality-pitching is all about as he single-handedly pitched the Tampa Bay Rays to an 8-1 win over the lowly-ranked Baltimore Orioles at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida on Sunday, September 4.
Hellickson pitched a complete-game effort for just one-run amid four hits to bring his earned-run average down to 2.90 for the season. Although he managed just one strike-out in the entire stretch, it was enough to hand him his 12th win of the
season with ten losses to his credit thus far. The only run that came off his pitching was a home-run effort by Adam Jones in the fifth inning.
The home side got off to a blistering start with a two-run homer from Sean Rodriguez in the second inning. Rodriguez pulled the ball 380-feet towards left field to allow Brandon Guyer to complete his run and take the Rays to a commanding two-run lead.
The Orioles showed panic in the field in the third inning and a few fielding errors confirmed their lack of confidence. Third baseman Mark Reynolds’ error allowed Evan Longoria to add the third run for the Rays before Reid Brignac’s stroke of genius doubled
the lead in the same inning. Brignac skilfully crafted the ball through left field for an RBI that allowed Jose Lobaton, Casey Kotchman and Brandon Guyer to reach home-plate safely and take the Rays to an unassailable six-run lead.
Matt Joyce added woes to the already-diminished Orioles as his sacrifice fly allowed Desmond Jennings to take the score to 7-0 and virtually seal the encounter as early as the fourth inning.
Jeremy Guthrie was a disappointment for the Orioles yet again as he lost his 17th game of the season after five lacklustre-innings from the mound. He threw 112 pitches in this stretch but seven runs were a bit too much for the Orioles to chase.
Guthrie has won just six games this season and his place in the rotation is no certainty for the next season.
Rick VandenHurk replaced Guthrie in the sixth inning but Joyce hammered him for a home-run early in his spell to complete the score at 8-1.
The Rays won the series 2-1 after losing the first game 2-3.
Tags: