Tampa Bay Rays beat Baltimore Orioles 3-1 in series opener – MLB Update
Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-1 at Orioles Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland on Tuesday, July 24 in the opening game of their three match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
Adam Jones homered to centre in the fourth inning to break the deadlock and put the Orioles 1-0 ahead. Third baseman Brooks Conrad connected for a two run short in the fifth to help the Rays take a crucial 2-1 lead. Jeff Keppinger’s RBI single to right in
the sixth sealed a much needed win for Tampa Bay.
"That was a big win for us tonight to get the road trip off on the right foot," said Conrad said in a post game interview.
"I hit a slider," he further added. "Shortened my swing up, ended up catching it out front and I got it pretty good."
Rays’ starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson pitched with great control and accuracy. Allowing just three hits and a run in six plus solid innings, he picked up his fifth win of the season. Relief pitcher Fernando Rodney pitched the perfect ninth for his 28th
save of the season.
"Helley did good. Helley was more aggressive with the fastball in the strike zone," Rays’ manager Joe Maddon said. "I thought he pitched a brighter game tonight. I liked it."
It was an important game for both teams. Placed second on the American League East Division standings, the Orioles were looking to consolidate their position at the top of the table. The Rays, on the other hand, wanted to start the series on a winning note
to build some much needed confidence.
Both teams put up a brave fight in a game that was played on quite a competitive note but it was the Rays who eventually prevailed, taking psychological advantage over their opponents.
With just four wins in their last ten games, Joe Maddon and company have definitely struggled to find momentum after the All Star Break. It will be interesting to see if they can sweep the Orioles in this series, to have the chance of grabbing one of the
wild card spots.
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