ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. _ Michael Perez hasn't done that much for the Rays at the plate this season, but he has made it count.
On Wednesday he delivered just his sixth hit of the season, and first for extra bases, but it was a home run in the eighth inning, and it was the difference in giving the Rays a 4-3 win over the Orioles.
In part-time duty, it was the third game in which Perez delivered the key run. A sac fly provided the only run in a 1-0 win over the Yankees on Aug. 7, and two days later he had a two-out single in the ninth to give the Rays a 4-3 win over the Yankees.
He helped the Rays on Wednesday improve to 21-11 and extend their lead to 2 { games over the Yankees in the American League East.
The game was a messy one for the Rays, with at least a half-dozen misplays or missed plays, though they were charged with only two errors.
The Orioles took a 2-0 lead in the first off starter Trevor Richards.
Cedric Mullins bunted his way on, then came around to score when right fielder Hunter Renfroe overran Hanser Alberto's single through the vacated right side of the infield. Alberto then scored on a grounder up the middle by Renato Nunez, racing home ahead of second baseman Brandon Lowe's high throw.
Richards, getting a start as Tampa Bay deals with a rash of pitching injuries, kept the Orioles at two runs as he worked into the fifth, and that was enough for his teammates to get even, then ahead.
They got two in the third as Austin Meadows walked with one out and Lowe followed with his team-leading 10th home run, a blast deep to right measured at 396 feet with an exit velocity of 105 mph.
The Rays took the lead in the fifth, but they could have had more after loading the bases with no outs when Margot doubled, Meadows walked and Lowe was hit by a pitch, which he didn't like. Pinch-hitter Yandy Diaz bounced a ball up the middle allowing Margot to score on the fielder's-choice out at second.
Some more Rays sloppiness cost them the lead in the seventh. Alberto reached when Diaz didn't make a play on his two-out grounder, moved up on a wild pitch by Pete Fairbanks and scored on a single by Anthony Santander.
Center fielder Kevin Kiermaier left the game during a fifth inning at-bat after he winced while taking a pitch, with the team saying it was a back spasm.
He had been seen grabbing his back after sliding into second during a double play an inning earlier. Kiermaier was relieved to be able to return to action Tuesday after being hit on the right ankle by a pitch during Monday's game.
Ryan Sherriff's eighth-inning appearance after being promoted to take the place of injured Jalen Beeks capped his lengthy comeback June 2018 Tommy John surgery. Sherriff made his first appearance in the majors since May 2018 with St. Louis, and he got the win.
He was released in August 2018 and signed an unusual three-year minor league contract with the Rays. He made it back to pitch in six games in August 2019, took part in the original spring training and has been working out with the Port Charlotte group since play resumed.
