ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Luis Patino ran out to the mound, bright blue glove in hand, long before any of his teammates were even close to taking the field ahead of the first inning Friday.
He allowed two solo home runs in 3 2/3 innings, but two recently acquired Rays provided crucial RBI hits to help stop the hottest team in baseball in a 5-4 win over the Orioles.
The Rays (50-40) turned a 2-1 deficit into a 5-4 lead with four straight extra-base hits in the sixth. Josh Lowe knocked home Yu Chang — claimed off waivers from the Pirates on July 5 — to end the night for Baltimore starter Tyler Wells. Cionel Perez didn’t fare much better, giving up a double from Francisco Mejia before Christian Bethancourt hit a bizarre first home run as a Ray.
