The Tampa Bay Rays wrapped up a strong road trip on Sunday afternoon, despite falling 5-1 to the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. Baltimore starter Dean Kremer once again proved to be a tough challenge for Tampa Bay hitters, tossing seven shutout innings and limiting the Rays to just three hits.
Kremer, who also beat the Rays less than two weeks ago in Tampa, improved to 4-1 in his career against them, boasting a 1.91 ERA in nine starts. His dominance has been a key factor in Baltimore taking four of the first seven games in this year’s season series. The two teams are set to meet again July 18–20 in Tampa, and later in Baltimore from September 23–25 to close out the regular season road schedule.
“He mixes pitches well and keeps you off balance,” Rays catcher Danny Jansen said. “He’s got movement on the fastball, the cutter keeps hitters guessing, and he just fills the zone.”
Jansen nearly put the Rays on the board with a long drive in the eighth inning, but Colton Cowser made a leaping grab at the wall to take away what could’ve been a home run.
On the mound for Tampa Bay, Taj Bradley gave up five earned runs over 5.1 innings. Baltimore struck early in the second inning with Ramon Laureano doubling and scoring on Cowser’s RBI single. The Orioles added two more in the fifth and another pair in the sixth, all charged to Bradley, who fell to 5-6 on the season.
Gary Sanchez added an RBI single, and Cedric Mullins brought in a run with a sacrifice fly to cap the Orioles’ scoring.
Tampa Bay’s lone run came in the ninth, when Brandon Lowe homered to right-center — his 18th of the season. That swing extended his hitting streak to a league-best 16 games. Meanwhile, Jonathan Aranda’s 13-game streak ended after he went hitless in four at-bats.
The loss didn’t spoil what was otherwise a successful trip. The Rays went 4-2 overall, including a sweep in Kansas City. Since catching fire on May 20, they’ve won nine of their last 13 series and now sit 47-37, just 1.5 games behind the Yankees in the AL East. Their 26-12 run since that date remains the best in the majors.
“Sometimes you just tip your cap,” Lowe said after the game. “Kremer was excellent today. But we’re not dwelling on this. We’ve been playing great baseball. We reset and get ready for Oakland.”
Tampa Bay heads home to Steinbrenner Field for a three-game set against the Athletics starting Monday. Drew Rasmussen gets the start in the opener, followed by Shane Baz on Tuesday and Ryan Pepiot on Wednesday. From there, the Rays hit the road again for a 10-game stretch leading into the All-Star break.
See also:
Baseball Legend Dave Parker Passes Away at 74 Ahead of Hall of Fame Induction
Houston Astros Pursue Cedric Mullins as Deadline Target Amid Push for Playoff Balance
Solano and Garver Lead Mariners to 6-4 Extra-Inning Victory Over Rangers
Cody Bellinger Delivers Homer After Special Moment With Young Fan at Yankee Stadium
Rockies Snap Skid in 11-Inning Thriller Over Brewers
Join 500K Subscribers For Updates
