Moore solid, but Rays fall to Tillman, Orioles 2-1
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Matt Moore was good again for the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday night — just not as good as Baltimore's Chris Tillman.
Moore, who has two of the Rays' three wins since June 15, pitched 7 1/3 innings, his longest start of the season, giving up two runs — on J.J. Hardy's two-run homer — and five hits. But Tillman became the American League's second 13-game winner as the Orioles won their fourth straight, 2-1 over the Rays to maintain a two-game lead over Boston in the AL East.
"Matt Moore was pretty outstanding again for us, gave us every opportunity to win," manager Kevin Cash said. "It stinks when you lose a ballgame on one pitch. That kind of sums it up how it's been going for us."
Tillman (13-2) gave up one run and four hits, walked three and struck out three in seven innings. Only Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox has more wins (14) among AL pitchers.
Brad Brach threw a perfect eighth and Zach Britton struck out two in the ninth for his 29th save.
Hardy's fourth home run of the season came off Moore (5-7) after Matt Wieters' two-out double in the second.
"It's not very often that a two-run homer stands up, but it did," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. "That was two good pitchers at the top of their game."
The Rays, who have lost eight straight, did not have a hit after the fourth inning.
"It's easy to look at things that are going wrong and put your finger on them. We're trying," Moore said. "We're just waiting for tomorrow to get here. Tomorrow, we have to come out and try to win a ballgame. We can't do anything about what's already happened."
Logan Morrison scored Tampa Bay's run after a leadoff triple in the fourth that was originally called a home run before being overturned by an umpire replay review. The ball was ruled to have hit the top of the wall in left field and back into play, and Morrison — who slid into third — was given a triple. Steven Souza Jr. then drove in Morrison with a single, the final hit of the game for the Rays.
FADING RAYS
Tampa Bay has lost eight straight games, 12 of 13, and 24 of its last 27. The Rays have dropped 19 straight against first-place teams. They have lost seven straight to the Orioles. Since June 15, they have gone from 5 1/2 games behind to 19 1/2 back in the AL East. They have not had a winning homestand this season.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Orioles: OF Hyun Soo Kim (right hamstring) was out of the lineup for the second straight game. Showalter said it will determined after a workout Sunday if Kim will need to go on the disabled list. ... Showalter said RHP Darren O'Day (strained right hamstring) looked "crisp" during a bullpen session and will take part in a simulated game Tuesday.
Rays: INF Steve Pearce (strained right hamstring) started a rehab assignment with Class A Charlotte. ... OF Desmond Jennings (strained left hamstring) continued taking batting practice and has started a running program.
UP NEXT
Orioles: RHP Dylan Bundy (2-1) makes his first major league start in Sunday's series finale. The fourth overall pick in the 2011 draft has thrown 38 innings in 22 relief appearances this season. He was limited to a combined 17 minor league games the previous two years after Tommy John surgery in 2013. "First major league start for anybody is going to be exciting," Bundy said.
Rays: RHP Jake Odorizzi (3-5), whose recent starts have been scouted by many playoff-contending teams, will go against Bundy.