The Rays are hitting — and winning — at an eye-popping pace. Steady offense? It’s more like a pinball machine.
With a powerful start provided by second-inning home runs from Joey Wendle and Randy Arozarena, the Rays mounted a 18-hit attack and cruised past the Orioles 10-1 on Thursday afternoon for their first series sweep in Baltimore since 2013.
The Rays, who open a four-game series Friday night against the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin, have a seven-game win streak, in which they have outscored opponents 63-23. They have 17 homers during that span and are 13-1 this season when hitting multiple homers.
Left-hander Rich Hill (3-1) didn’t have his best stuff and saw his scoreless streak halted at 20.2 consecutive innings when Trey Mancini smacked a fourth-inning solo homer. But that was all Hill allowed as he battled through six innings of two-hit ball. And that was more than enough.
Each member of the Rays’ starting lineup reached base and eight of them had hits. The one who didn’t hit — Brett Phillips — reached base four times.
Arozarena was 4-for-6 with four RBIs, including a three-run homer (which gave him three homers in two days).
Wendle (4-for-6) had an even better day. He started things with a second-inning solo homer, got his second homer of the day in the ninth off Orioles’ desperation pitcher/utility player Stevie Wilkerson and finished a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. Wendle had his first multi-homer game and 11 total bases, one off the franchise’s single-game record.
The Rays’ final numbers for the three-game series at Baltimore — 32 runs, 43 hits and 11 homers.
For the win streak streak, it’s 63 runs, 85 hits and 17 homers.
“I don’t think there’s much different (in the approach), but we’re doing some things better than 10 days ago,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said before the game. “I know this offense is very capable of doing special things and at times putting up big numbers. Everybody is playing a role.”
After Wendle homered off Orioles starter Dean Kremer to start the second, the Rays’ offense again shifted into high gear. Kevin Kiermaier followed with a single and Phillips drew a one-out walk. Then it was Arozarena blasting a three-run homer for a 4-0 lead.
Hill didn’t allow a hit through three innings, but his control was off (three walks in that span). Mancini homered to lead off the fourth and it was 4-1, but Hill remained safe because he never faced a runner in scoring position.
It stayed that way until the sixth. Arozarena and Austin Meadows (3-for-6) opened with singles, then Ji-Man Choi produced an RBI single, sending Meadows to third. Brandon Lowe’s sacrifice fly made it 6-1.
The Rays poured it on during the seventh. After Phillips reached on a fielder’s choice, then stole second, Arozarena drove him in with a single. Meadows followed with an RBI double, then took third on the throw to the plate. Yandy Diaz also had a run-scoring single.
When the Orioles inserted Wilkerson for the ninth, Lowe and Mike Brosseau quickly went out. And Wendle swung and missed. But he made the adjustment to Wilkerson’s offerings, which barely registered on the radar gun, and blasted a solo homer to right.
