Kiermaier goes deep, makes leap in Rays’ win

ST. PETERSBURG — Kevin Kiermaier’s two-run homer paved the way for a 3-1 Rays win over the Orioles on Tuesday night at Tropicana Field.

Kiermaier, who made an acrobatic run-into-the-wall catch in the first, was scuffling on offense. He’d popped out and grounded out in his previous two at-bats against Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez when he stepped to the plate with two outs in the sixth and a runner aboard. After falling behind 0-2, he connected on Jimenez’s third pitch and deposited the ball into the right-field stands to give him his third home run of the season and the Rays a 3-1 lead.

“KK comes up with the huge hit to separate the game,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “… Credit KK, I don’t think he was seeing the ball that well early on.”

Desmond Jennings gave the Rays a 1-0 lead with a sacrifice fly in the third. After extending his hitting streak to 11 games with a single in the second, Mark Trumbo answered with an RBI single in the fourth off Rays starter Jake Odorizzi that tied the score.

“I think the key to the game was them, defensively,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of his club’s fourth loss in five games. “We hit four balls on the button that they defended. That’s a tribute to them. Would have liked to create a couple opportunities we could cash in on.”

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDDodging trouble: Odorizzi had struggled in the early parts of games this season, allowing a total of nine runs in the first and second innings of his previous four starts. The second inning looked like more of the same when Trumbo singled to center with one out and J.J. Hardy followed with a double to left. Would Odorizzi’s early-inning troubles continue? Not Tuesday night. He struck out Pedro Alvarez then retired Jonathan Schoop on a flyout to center to end the inning. Odorizzi allowed just …

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