Tampa Bay Rays stand three wins behind Boston Red Sox after 5-2 win over Baltimore Orioles
The Tampa Bay Rays had a lot to be happy about on Monday, September 12 when they beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-2 at Oriole Park in Camden Yards.
The team is now three wins behind the Boston Red Sox and if they can clear them off the second position in the American League East, they will be able to earn the Wild Card berth for the post-season qualification.
B. J. Upton walked into the game with a 9-1 victory against the Boston Red Sox on Sunday, September 11. The star was on fire and his grand slam in the previous game irked caution at the home team pitchers. The star was bound to cause trouble and that is
exactly what he did. He stamped himself in the Rays’ record books when he reached base nine straight times. He reached base on Sunday four times and he was given a walk as well. In this game, he got the four more that he needed to become the leader in reaching
bases.
He availed two walks in the game to move to the top of the Walks Career Leader in the Rays’ history records. Nothing could stop Upton in this game as he punched three runs for the club.
"I just want to help this team whether it's offensively or defensively, and right now it happens to be on the offensive end," Upton said. "I feel good right now, and I'll just try to feel good as long as I can. The hits are just falling."
Baltimore starter Zach Britton was weak against the Rays and he picked up the loss as he conceded four runs off five hits. Jeff Niemann however improved his standing in the season for the Rays as he picked up his 10th win with 7.2 innings of pitching.
He gave up two runs off six hits.
Ben Zobrist kicked off the scoring with a 2-RBI double to deep-left in the third. Brandon Guyer and Upton scored the first two runs of the game. With the score 2-0, the Rays extended their lead when Zobrist ran home on a RBI single from Sean Rodriguez. The
score was 3-0 and the Orioles failed to react.
Johnny Damon then extended the lead in the fifth when he hit a sacrifice fly to centre. Upton ran home from the play for the fourth run. The score was now 4-0 and the Orioles were reeling in the background. They got an uplifting run in the bottom of the
fifth when Mark Reynolds scored off a double line drive from Robert Andino.
Orioles came back in the bottom of the sixth to make it 2-4 when Matt Weiters punished Niemann with a centre-field homer.
There was still a fighting chance but Upton ended that opportunity when he scored the fifth and final run of the game in the top of the seventh, off a single from Zobrist. The Rays won the bout 5-2 and Upton grabbed the media’s attention. Even Joe Maddon
was impressed by the centre-fielder. He talked about his recent stats after the game.
"That's pretty impressive. He's getting good at-bats," Maddon said. "He's been taking his walks and when they come in the zone he's hitting it. He's been fantastic, he's been really high-end of late, maybe as good as I've seen him. He's playing with a lot
of focus and intensity."
The Rays now have a series against the Boston Red Sox on September 15. If they can win that encounter at Fenway Park, they may well be sitting on the Wild Card berth before the end of the season.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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