Major League Baseball
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Tampa Bay 3, Baltimore 0
When: 7:10 PM ET, Friday, September 5, 2014
Where: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Temperature: Indoors
Umpires: Home - Will Little, 1B - Gerry Davis, 2B - Greg Gibson, 3B - Phil Cuzzi
Attendance: 14632

Rays 3, Orioles 0: Yunel Escobar drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth and Ryan Hanigan followed with a two-run single as host Tampa Bay halted Baltimore's three-game winning streak.

Alex Cobb tossed seven impressive innings, allowing six hits and striking out six, while Escobar, Evan Longoria and Wil Myers had two hits apiece as the Rays halted their three-game skid. Brad Boxberger (4-1) worked a perfect eighth and Jake McGee struck out the side in the ninth to notch his 16th save and seal Tampa Bay's 19th shutout of the season.

Ryan Webb (3-3) permitted two runs in one inning of relief as the Orioles dropped the opener of their six-game road trip following a 9-2 homestand. Wei-Yin Chen gave up four hits over six scoreless frames and Adam Jones recorded a pair of hits for Baltimore, which maintained its 9 1/2-game lead over the New York Yankees in the American League East.

Longoria and Myers opened the eighth with back-to-back singles to chase Webb in favor of Evan Meek, who walked James Loney to load the bases before Escobar grounded a single past second baseman Jonathan Schoop to break the scoreless deadlock. After Logan Forsythe forced a runner at the plate, Hanigan ripped a single to left to plate a pair of runs for a 3-0 edge.

Both teams failed to capitalize on early scoring chances, with Baltimore collecting a pair of hits in each of its first two at-bats and the Rays leaving the bases loaded in the second. The Orioles also had an opportunity in the sixth, when Jones singled and moved to second on a wild pitch, but right fielder Myers made a diving catch on Chris Davis' sinking liner to save a run.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Cobb has permitted two or fewer runs in 11 consecutive outings. ... Orioles 1B Steve Pearce (abdominal strain) did not feel any discomfort while taking batting practice Friday and could return to the lineup Saturday. LF Delmon Young will start with LHP Drew Smyly on the mound for Tampa Bay. ... Rays CF Desmond Jennings sat out his eighth straight game due to a badly bruised left knee, while Baltimore signed Cuban RHP Lazaro Leyna on Friday -pending a physical.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Baltimore   Tampa Bay
Wei-Yin Chen Player Alex Cobb
No Decision W/L No Decision
6.0 IP 7.0
3 Strikeouts 6
4 Hits 6
0.00 ERA 0.00
Hitting
Baltimore   Tampa Bay
Adam Jones Player Yunel Escobar
2 Hits 2
0 RBI 1
0 HR 0
2 TB 2
.667 Avg .667
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Baltimore 6 0 6 .194 8 11 0 1 0 0
Tampa Bay 8 0 9 .267 21 3 3 5 0 0