BALTIMORE — Amid a surprisingly dismal season at Camden Yards, there were still some hints of a brighter future for the Baltimore Orioles.
That was certainly true in their home finale.
Rookie Dylan Beavers hit a solo homer on the first pitch of the ninth inning to give Baltimore a 6-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday. The Orioles trailed 5-2 in the eighth before tying the score on a two-run shot by another youngster, Coby Mayo.
“It was awesome. Especially going down early, we battled back,” Beavers said. “We kept fighting in that game.”
After two straight postseason appearances, the Orioles took a step back this year, never recovering from a terrible start. A loss Thursday would have assured them of a last-place finish in the AL East — they trail fourth-place Tampa Bay by two games with three to play.
The Orioles rallied Thursday from a 5-2, eighth-inning deficit and guaranteed the Rays consecutive losing seasons for the first time since four straight from 2014-17. Coby Mayo tied it with a two-run homer in the eighth.
Keegan Akin (5-4) worked the ninth. Kevin Kelly (2-5) allowed the homers to Mayo and Beavers, each on the first pitch of the at-bat.
Tampa Bay’s Christopher Morel opened the scoring with a bases-loaded double in the third that made it 2-0. Richie Palacios followed with a sacrifice fly.
Ryan Mountcastle hit a solo homer in the third and an RBI single in the fifth to pull the Orioles within one. The Rays answered with two runs in the sixth on back-to-back RBI doubles by Tristan Gray and Bob Seymour.
Jesse Scholtens struck out nine in 5 1/3 innings of relief for the Rays. His final pitch was a swinging third strike by Colton Cowser in the eighth, but the ball got away for a wild pitch that allowed a run to score. Mayo then greeted Kelly with a two-run shot.
Tampa Bay heads to Toronto for a three-game series against the playoff-bound Blue Jays. Adrian Houser (8-4) starts for the Rays on Friday night against Shane Bieber (3-2).
The Orioles are in New York against the Yankees, the team battling Toronto for the AL East title. Baltimore starts Trevor Rogers (9-2, 1.35 ERA) on Friday night.
Pitching has been a problem for the Orioles, but even the organization’s ostensible strong suit - young hitting - hasn’t produced as much as hoped.
But the Orioles are 14-8 in September despite trading several veterans at the deadline. Baltimore was the only big league team without a walk-off victory this year before the Orioles finally managed one in the middle of August. Then they added five more in September, the final one courtesy of Beavers, an outfielder called up to make his debut Aug. 16.
Of their six walk-off wins, four were provided by rookies - the two by Beavers and two by catcher Samuel Basallo. Jackson Holliday, Baltimore’s 21-year-old infielder, had one, as well.
The 23-year-old Mayo has batted just .216 this year, but Thursday he hit his 10th homer of the season in 255 at-bats. He’s hitting over .300 in September.
“From an organizational standpoint, we have been as steady on him as anybody,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “I think we know he’s going to be a good hitter, and I think we know it’s going to take a little bit of time.”
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