The Orioles keep finding just enough offense in the biggest moments, and on Friday night it came from the bench twice.
Samuel Basallo tied the game with a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the eighth, and Dylan Beavers followed with a pinch-hit RBI double in the 10th as Baltimore beat Tampa Bay 3-2 at Camden Yards. The win lifted the Orioles to 63-67 and pushed them to 8-4 against the Rays.
Baltimore’s relief work held up long enough for the late swings to matter. Rico Garcia worked a scoreless 10th, handling Taylor Walls’ bunt himself before flipping to Carlos Narváez for the out at second on Richie Palacios.
That set the stage for Beavers, who drove in Leody Taveras with the first pitch he saw from Bryan Baker. It was Beavers’ fourth career walk-off hit.
The Orioles’ bench has been a real weapon all season, and the numbers show it. Their 34 pinch-hit RBIs lead the majors, and Basallo’s blast was their sixth pinch-hit homer of the year. It was the first pinch-hit homer of his career, a 411-foot shot to center off Kevin Kelly after Jackson Holliday opened the inning with a single and Pete Alonso struck out.
Tyler O’Neill made sure the game stayed within reach long before the late offense arrived. The right fielder delivered a huge defensive night, throwing out a runner at third in the sixth and then making a diving catch on a shallow fly ball in the ninth to rob Richie Palacios and keep the tying run from scoring after Jonny DeLuca doubled. O’Neill now has seven outfield assists, matching his career high.
Brandon Young’s outing followed the same stop-and-start pattern that has defined too many Orioles games lately. He gave up two runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings, leaving after 84 pitches, 48 of them strikes.
The middle of his start was sharp - he retired 10 straight and cruised through a six-pitch fourth - but the Rays broke through late. Chandler Simpson reached on an infield single with two outs, and Junior Caminero followed with a single to center for a 2-0 Tampa Bay lead.
Josh Walker came in and stranded both runners.
Walker kept the damage from spreading, extending his run of steady work with his eighth straight scoreless outing and his ninth in 10 appearances.
Tampa Bay got its first run in the second when Liam Hicks lined a sinker onto the flag court in right field. The Rays also had an early chance in the first after Yandy Díaz singled and Jonathan Aranda walked, but Simpson popped up in foul territory and Caminero grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.
Baltimore had chances of its own before the late comeback. In the first, the Orioles put two runners in scoring position with one out but came away empty after O’Neill flied to shallow left and Gunnar Henderson struck out looking at a 98.6 mph fastball with the count full. In the third, Alonso and Coby Mayo each singled hard off Shane McClanahan, but O’Neill again flied out to end the rally.
Alonso finished with a 14-game hitting streak, the longest by an Oriole since Colton Cowser’s 17-game run in 2024. Mayo also kept punishing lefties, pushing his average against them to .306 with eight doubles and 13 home runs in 108 at-bats.
McClanahan blanked Baltimore over five innings before being lifted after 74 pitches. The Orioles managed their only hits against him from Alonso and Mayo.
Tyler Wells threw two scoreless innings in his return to Camden Yards, and Alex Hoppe retired all four batters he faced.
After the game, Craig Albernaz gave a brief update on right-hander Helsley, who is on the injured list for a second time with right elbow inflammation and last pitched on June 27. He has not yet thrown live batting practice and is trying to return next month on the expanded roster.
“He’s still playing catch,” Albernaz said. “Every time he throws we’re taking inventory of how he’s feeling, working with the medical staff to see where he’s at.
And everything’s been going fine. I think we’re still just hearing Hels’ feedback and kind of how he’s recovering.”
In Double-A, Chesapeake’s JT Quinn allowed two runs in five innings against Richmond, and Colin Tuft hit his first Double-A home run.
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Samuel Basallos pinch-hit homer in the eighth flipped the energy in the ballpark and set up the kind of finishing kick this club has been waiting for. Dylan Beavers then delivered the ending Baltimore wanted in the 10th, capping a night that showed why the Orioles keep leaning on their younger bats when the game gets tight. [Read more 🡒]