BALTIMORE (AP) – Evan Longoria homered, tripled and scored three runs to help the Tampa Bay Rays beat Baltimore 5-2 Saturday night, blunting the Orioles’ playoff push.
The loss dropped Baltimore three games behind first-place Boston in the AL East and a half-game in back of Toronto for the top AL wild-card slot, pending the Blue Jays’ late game at the Los Angeles Angels.
The Orioles have lost two of three to the last-place Rays in a series that ends Sunday. Longoria has homered in each of the three games and has a career-high 35 for the season.
Baltimore ace Chris Tillman (16-6) had a one-hitter and a 2-1 lead after five innings, but he failed to get out of the sixth.
