RAYS 11, ORIOLES 2
BALTIMORE -- It's all hands on deck for the Tampa Bay Rays as they make a playoff push this September, and a few pairs of fresh legs more than carried their weight Tuesday night.
There were plenty of stars in an 11-2 victory over the free-falling Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night, including two guys who recently came aboard for the stretch run.
J.P. Arencibia homered and drove in six runs to back an impressive pitching performance by Drew Smyly (Little Rock Central, Arkansas Razorbacks), and the Rays enjoyed a rare rout in a season filled with down-to-the-wire finishes.
"It was obviously a little uncharacteristic for us," Manager Kevin Cash said.
Brandon Guyer had four hits for the Rays, but the standouts were Arencibia -- playing his sixth game of the season -- and Smyly, making his fourth start since returning from a 3 1/2-month stay on the disabled list with a torn left labrum.
Smyly (2-2) struck out 10 over seven scoreless innings. The left-hander allowed 4 hits, walked 1 and retired the final 10 batters he faced.
"It was fun to watch," Cash said. "Smyly set the tone. He was outstanding."
Batting ninth in the order, Arencibia hit a pair of two-run singles before adding a two-run home run in the seventh. It was his sixth game with Tampa Bay since being recalled from Class AAA Durham on Wednesday.
"It's always fun when you see a new guy come in here and have a game like that," Cash said.
Tampa Bay scored four runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to send Baltimore to its 12th loss in 13 games.
The one constant during the Orioles' horrid skid is their inability to score. They've been limited to three runs or fewer in all 12 of their defeats and have been outscored 78-35 over the 13-game stretch.
Baltimore hasn't abandoned its chances of reaching the postseason, but Manager Buck Showalter conceded, "We are going to have to get hot in order to get in this thing."
Chris Davis hit his 36th home run with a man on in the ninth, though that merely prevented Baltimore from taking its second shutout in three games.
TIGERS 6, ROYALS 5 Justin Verlander threw his fifth consecutive quality start, and Ian Kinsler homered and drove in three runs as visiting Detroit beat Kansas City.
YANKEES 3, RED SOX 1 Brett Gardner homered and Stephen Drew hit a two-run double as the New York pieced together just enough offense to overcame Rick Porcello's career-high 13 strikeouts and beat host Boston.
TWINS 8, WHITE SOX 6 Miguel Sano's towering home run tied the game for Minnesota in the seventh inning, and two Chicago errors aided the go-ahead rally in the eighth for the Twins in a victory over the visiting White Sox.
BLUE JAYS 5, INDIANS 3 (10) Ryan Goins hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the 10th inning and host Toronto beat Cleveland, snapping the Indians' winning streak at six games.
MARINERS 7, ASTROS 5 Logan Morrison's tiebreaking two-run pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning lifted visiting Seattle to a victory over Houston.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
CARDINALS 8, NATIONALS 5 Brandon Moss hit a three-run walk-off home run with two outs in the ninth, giving St. Louis a victory over visiting Washington.
DIAMONDBACKS 6-5, ROCKIES 4-3 A.J. Pollock hit a tiebreaking two-run home run, Paul Goldschmidt also homered and Arizona beat host Colorado in the second game to complete a doubleheader sweep. Phil Gosselin homered and drove in four runs, Patrick Corbin pitched into the seventh inning and Arizona beat Colorado in the first game.
MARLINS 7, BRAVES 1 Justin Nicolino pitched seven scoreless innings, Justin Bour hit a three-run home run, and visiting Miami beat hapless Atlanta again.
CUBS 5, REDS 4 Kyle Schwarber hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the seventh inning, and Kris Bryant had three hits as host Chicago beat Cincinnati.
PHILLIES 14, METS 8 Darin Ruf homered and had a career-high six RBI, powering visiting Philadelphia to a blowout that emphatically ended their 10-game losing streak to New York.
BREWERS 7, PIRATES 4 Jimmy Nelson pitched seven dominant innings and host Milwaukee tagged Pittsburgh ace Gerrit Cole for five early runs on the way to a victory.
Sports on 09/02/2015