Archer strong, but bullpen falters vs. O’s

BALTIMORE — The Orioles mounted a late rally Friday night, scoring three times after the sixth inning in a 5-4 victory over the Rays that assures Baltimore will end the night no worse than tied with the Blue Jays for the top Wild Card spot in the American League. Toronto plays at the Angels later Friday night.

Zach Britton picked up his 44th save of the season to remain perfect, but it didn’t come without drama. Alexei Ramirez lined a ball down the left-field line with two outs, and Mikie Mahtook attempted to score from first. Mahtook was thrown out at the plate on a relay for the final out of the game. The Rays challenged, and the call was confirmed.

Ubaldo Jimenez gave up two-run homers in the first and second innings to put the O’s in a 4-0 hole, but they slowly chipped away before Hyun Soo Kim cut the deficit to a run in the seventh inning on a long RBI single with the bases loaded. Baltimore then capitalized on Brad Boxberger’s wildness in the eighth inning. The Rays reliever walked the first two batters of the inning and hit another to load the bases. J.J. Hardy recorded an infield single and Michael Bourn contributed a sacrifice fly to give the Orioles their first lead of the night in the bottom of the eighth.

Evan Longoria hit the first of the Rays’ two homers, a two-run shot in the first inning and his 34th of the season, a new career high. Richie Shaffer added his first of the season an inning later. Pedro Alvarez and Chris Davis went deep for the Orioles to cut into the deficit and help set the stage for the late-inning comeback.

Jimenez overcame the early home runs to go seven innings. Rays starter Chris Archer allowed three runs over 6 1/3 innings and didn’t factor into the decision.

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