Moore's eighth win caps Rays' sweep

BALTIMORE — Matt Moore became the first eight-game winner in the majors as the Rays completed a three-game sweep of the Orioles with a 3-1 win Sunday.

Moore moved to a perfect 8-0 in working seven innings, allowing one run and five hits and striking out three. Joel Peralta worked the eighth and Fernando Rodney, who blew his last save chance Thursday, the ninth for his eighth save.

The Rays moved to a season-high three games over .500 at 23-20 and open a three-game series at Toronto on Monday....

Moore gets 8th win as Rays sweep O's

  LHP Matt Moore became the first eight-game winner in the majors as the Rays completed a three-game sweep of the Orioles with a 3-1 win.
  Moore moved to a perfect 8-0 in working seven innings, allowing the one runs and five hits, striking out three. Joel Peralta worked the eighth and Fernando Rodney, who blew his last save chance on Thursday, the ninth for his eight save.
  The Rays moved to a season-high three games over .500 at 23-20, and open a three-game series at Toronto on Monday.
  The Rays took a 1-0 lead in the third when Yunel Escobar, the first batter to reach for either team, drew a two-out walk and came around on Desmond Jennings’ double to left. The O’s tied it in the fourth when Joyce and Desmond Jennings nearly collided on Manny Machado’s drive to right-center, resulting in a triple, then the run on Adam Jones’  single.
   The Rays took the lead with a pair of home runs. One was simple, a leadoff shot by ex-Oriole Luke Scott in the fifth.
    The other, not so much. Matt Joyce lined a ball that hit at the top of the rightfield wall and just below the foul pole. The umpires initially called it fair, and, with Joyce at second, thus a double.
  Which led to both managers protesting – the Orioles Buck Showalter that it was foul, the Rays Joe Maddon that it was a home run. The umps talked it over with each manage, then amongst themselves, then paired off two with each manager, then huddled again before finally going to the replay – and ruling it was, as most viewers knew, a home run....

For starters: Rays at Orioles, seeking Moore's 8th

UPDATE, 12:23: With a fresh arm in LHP Jeff Beliveau, Maddon said the bullpen is pretty much back to full strength, with only Cesar Ramos likely unavailable. .. C Jose Molina is available on what Maddon said was an emergency basis. ..A break for Matt Moore in that O's are not playing C Matt Wieters, who was 6-for-11 against him with two homers.

Here is the Orioles lineup:

Markakis rf
Machado 3b
Jones cf
Davis 1b
Pearce lf
Hardy ss
Valencia dh
Navarro 2b
Snyder c
Tillman p...

Torres demoted, Beliveau promoted, Odorizzi next

The Rays took the next move in a multi-step shuffle to get their pitching staff back to full strength and replace injured David Price in the rotation.

After Saturday's impressive outing, LHP Alex Torres was optoned back to Triple-A Durham, and reliever LHP Jeff Beliveau was promoted.

Beliveau, acquired last month from Texas, is likely only here for the day, an extra arm to help out a bullpen that has been shorthanded due to heavy use....

Odorizzi is Monday starter

The Rays made the official announcement after Saturday's game that RHP Jake Odorizzi will start Monday in Toronto in place of David Price.

The corresponding move to create space on the roster for Odorizzi will be announced after Sunday's game.

Odorizzi was the Rays choice based on his work on Durham, and the decision was not dependent on Saturday's game - such as whether Alex Torres was used - since Odorizzi was already in Baltimore before the game was over....

Rays rally big in 9th for 10-6 win

   Whatever momentum the Rays had left after Friday's tenser-than-it-had-to-be 12-10 win over the Orioles seemd to be sapped by a rough first inning Saturday when starter Roberto Hernandez put them in a four-run hole.
  But the Rays (22-20) scored enough to get back in, and relievers Cesar Ramos and Alex Torres did a good job keeping it close to set up a big finish, a rally for six runs in the ninth that instead gave them a rewarding 10-6 win on a cool, damp Preakness afternoon in Baltimore.
    Matt Joyce was the offensive star, knocking in a career-high matching five runs, most importantly witrh a two-run double that put the Rays ahead 7-6 as they rallied against usually dominant Orioles closer Jim Johnson. Joyce also homered in the third and doubled in a run in the fifth.
   Torres got the win for his impressive work, four innings with no hits and two walks.
    The six runs in the ninth were one short of the Rays record. Their rally started with a one-out homer by Kelly Johnson, then walks to Jose Lobaton and Yunel Escobar, and a bloop, broken-bat single by Desmond Jennings. Joyce dodubled in two runs, then Ben Zobrist did the same.After a bloop double by Evan Longoria - extending his hitting streak to a career-high matching 12 - James Loney was walked and Luke Scott drew a walk to force in the final run.
  The Rays did tie a team record with eight doubles in the game, and logged 10 extra base hits for the first time since June 2009 vs. Colorado....

Molina leaves game in 5th with left hamstring tightness

UPDATE, 6:09: Molina left the game with tightness in his left hamstring and is day to day, the Rays said.

DEVELOPING: Rays catcher Jose Molina left the game in the fifth inning Saturday with an apparent lower body injury.

Molina was running hard to get to second after lining a ball off the CF wall, and just after arriving, standing up, he called time and left the field with a trainer....

Monday starter set .. announcement later today

The Rays have made a decision on Monday's starter in Toronto and plan to announce it after today's game, manager Joe Maddon said.

RHP Jake Odorizzi, acquired from Kansas City with Wil Myers in the James Shields trade, is expected to be the choice.

The Rays had also been considering RHP Chris Archer, RHP Alex Colome and RHP Alex Torres, who was called up on Thirsday and is here with the team working in relief....

For starters: Rays at Orioles

UPDATE, 3:18: Orioles lineup:

McLouth lf
Machado 3b
Markakis rf
Jones cf
Davis 1b
Wieters c
Hardy ss
Dickerson dh
Navarro 2b
Jurrjens p

UPDATE, 12:49: Rays lineup looks somewhat - relatively speaking - standard:

Jennings cf
Joyce rf
Zobrist 2b
Longoria 3b
Loney 1b
Scott dh
Johnson lf
Molina c
Escobar ss
Hernandez p...

Rays-Royals makeup won't be June 3

We still don't know when the Rays and Royals will makeup their May 2 snowed out game in Kansas City, but was told today by an informed source it won't be June 3, which was the date the players on both teams had agreed on.

Though the teams share three common off-days, none work in terms of the myriad MLB and players union rules, such as how many days in a row a team can play.

The other two dates - July 29 and Aug. 26 remain in dicussion....