Orioles ride power surge into rematch vs. Rays

The Baltimore Orioles have sputtered at times this month, but they've mostly gotten the job done against the team with the best record in the American League.

They'll aim for another victory when they take on the visiting Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday night.

The Orioles halted a four-game skid by winning 5-3 on Friday night. Pete Alonso belted his 30th home run of the season and Dylan Beavers went deep for the third game in a row.

Baltimore won three of four meetings with the Rays in a span from a week ago Friday through Monday. That was followed by a three-game sweep by the New York Yankees, but the Orioles overcame a two-run deficit to get back on track in the opener of the new series.

This week, Beavers hit half of his six homers.

"He's getting good pitches ahead and putting good swings on them," Baltimore manager Craig Albernaz said. "... He's starting to feel it, and yeah, homer in three straight games is pretty cool."

Alonso has six consecutive seasons of at least 30 home runs.

"Whatever I can help produce and help put runs on the board and prevent them in the field, I don't care, I just want to win," Alonso said. "Whatever I can do offensively, defensively, running the bags, doing the little things right, I just want to win ball games. That's all it is."

Albernaz, whose team is 8-11 in August, continues to heap praise on Alonso's impact.

"It's impressive watching him day in and day out just with his prep and just the teammate and person he is," he said.

The Rays are 2-6 in their last eight games, with their lead in the American League East slipping to three games on the New York Yankees.

"You've got to find ways out," Rays shortstop Taylor Walls said. "All three areas, we've got to be a little bit better. It's almost September, so the race is getting tighter. So we're going to have to pick it up."

Rays manager Kevin Cash wasn't around for the end of Friday night's game, as he was ejected for the first time this season for disputing a ruling on a check swing by Baltimore's Jackson Holliday. With the at-bat extended, Holliday produced a sacrifice fly before Alonso's homer.

Right-hander Brandon Young (9-3, 3.25 ERA) will make the start for the Orioles on Saturday.

He's coming off a rough four-inning stint when the Rays tagged him for four runs and eight hits in what became a no-decision. That marked Young's second stint in a three-outing span that lasted less than five innings. It was his only matchup with Tampa Bay across two seasons in the big leagues.

Left-hander Shane McClanahan (9-6, 3.52) will make his second start since coming off the injury list for the Rays. He also threw in Monday's game, giving up three runs in 3 1/3 innings. That included giving up a home run to Coby Mayo.

McClanahan is 6-0 all-time against the Orioles, including a 4-0 mark in 2021.