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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) – Mike Bordick figured a little bunt
might turn out to be the biggest play of the game.
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| Bordick |
Bordick squeezed home the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and
the Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 9-5 Thursday
night.
Bordick's bunt scored Fernando Lunar, who opened the eighth with
a single off Rusty Meacham (1-2). Lunar went to third after first
baseman Fred McGriff dropped a throw on Jerry Hairston's bunt
single.
"It didn't surprise me when I went up there," Bordick said.
"I haven't been swinging the bat real great, so I went up there
thinking they might put the squeeze on. So when the sign came up, I
wasn't shocked at all."
Delino DeShields then made it 7-5 with a run-scoring double.
Greg Myers, who has 10 RBI in four games against Tampa Bay, had
an RBI single and Bordick walked with the bases loaded as the
Orioles added two insurance runs in the ninth.
B.J. Ryan (1-0) got the final two outs in the seventh inning,
leaving the potential lead run stranded at second base.
The Orioles are 15-20, with eight of their wins coming against
Tampa Bay.
The game included 17 walks and four batters hit by pitches.
"Both clubs struggled with their pitching, but we were able to
do a little more at the plate than they were," Orioles manager
Mike Hargrove said. "We'll take it."
Tampa Bay pitchers hit four batters and issued eight walks.
"Collectively, we played a terrible game," Tampa Bay manager
Hal McRae said. "It wasn't a well played game. It was a lousy
ballgame."
Before the game, the Devil Rays placed third baseman Vinny
Castilla on unconditional release waivers. The move came two days
after Castilla, who asked to be traded or released last month after
being benched, was taken out of a game for failing to advance a
runner.
McGriff put the Devil Rays ahead 2-0 with a two-run double in
the first inning. He made it 3-1 in third on a sacrifice fly and
has knocked in runs in a club-record six straight games.
Baltimore loaded the bases – on a walk and two hit by pitches –
with one out in the second, but scored just once on Hairston's
sacrifice fly.
Chris Richard hit a solo homer and Lunar had a two-run double in
the fourth that put the Orioles ahead 4-3. Tampa Bay tied it at
4-all on John Flaherty's RBI grounder in the sixth.
The teams traded runs in the seventh. Myers had a run-scoring
grounder for Baltimore and Tampa Bay's Ben Grieve hit an RBI
double.
Devil Rays starter Paul Wilson gave up five runs, four hits, hit
three batters and walked six over six-plus innings.
"Three hit batters and six walks in six innings ... that's the
story right there," Wilson said. "I couldn't locate my fastball.
Walks will kill you. They got on base, and they always score."
Baltimore's Pat Hentgen went six innings, allowing four runs,
four hits and six walks.
"When you have those days, and you struggle like that, it's
nice to think that we came out and won the game," Hentgen said.
Tampa Bay has lost nine of its 11 (1-9-1) series. The Devil Rays
finished the current homestand 1-5.
"The guys are playing hard, but we continue to make mental
mistakes," McRae said. "We're not as alert as we need to be. To
turn it around, we need to eliminate some things."
Game notes
Wilson has eight of Tampa Bay's major league-leading 28 hit
by pitches. The Rays have led the American League in that
department in each of the team's first three seasons. No AL team
has done four straight years. ... When Bordick faced Wilson in the
first inning, it was the eighth straight plate appearances he had
faced a different pitcher. ... Aubrey Huff, who got an IV at a
local hospital after missing Wednesday's game with flu-like
symptoms, replaced Castilla at third base. ... The Devil Rays
optioned RHP Ryan Rupe to Triple-A Durham and recalled RHPs Ariel
Prieto, Dan Wheeler and Travis Phelps from the same club. ... Tampa
Bay RHP Mike Judd was placed on the 15-day disabled list with right
shoulder soreness.
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RECAPS
Detroit 6
Texas 5
Seattle 5
Boston 2
Kansas City 8
Cleveland 3
Minnesota 5
NY Yankees 4
Oakland 14
Toronto 8
Baltimore 9
Tampa Bay 5
Anaheim 7
Chi. White Sox 6
Milwaukee 11
Chicago Cubs 1
St. Louis 11
Pittsburgh 5
Colorado 8
NY Mets 2
San Francisco 13
Montreal 0
San Diego 6
Atlanta 5
Los Angeles 4
Florida 3
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