ST. PETERSBURG -- Brandon Hyde walked out of the visiting clubhouse at Tropicana Field on Saturday night and towards the group of reporters awaiting his newest postgame debriefing.

“Another easy one, right guys?” the Orioles’ supervisor quipped.

It was, after all, not a simple win for Baltimore, very like most of the 59 that got here earlier than it.

Even if the O’s didn’t take essentially the most direct path to victory, it was one other win nonetheless. After blowing a five-run lead, Baltimore withstood Tampa Bay’s comeback and received, 6-5, as Ryan O'Hearn delivered a go-ahead pinch-hit RBI single off right-hander Pete Fairbanks within the ninth inning.

The Orioles (60-38) moved into sole possession of first place within the American League East for the second time in three days whereas turning into the third MLB workforce to achieve 60 wins, becoming a member of the Rays (61-41) and the Majors-best Braves (63-34).

“The division’s tight. Every game matters, obviously,” O’Hearn mentioned. “To be able to pull this one out is huge.”

Here are three key takeaways from what Hyde referred to as a “weird game” and O’Hearn known as a “special win.”

1. Grayson Rodriguez is offering the increase the rotation wantsThe Orioles won't exit and purchase a beginning pitcher forward of the Aug. 1 Trade Deadline, and Rodriguez’s current efficiency could possibly be a motive for that. The 23-year-old right-hander, who was recalled Tuesday after an almost two-month stint again at Triple-A Norfolk, has seemed electrical since rejoining Baltimore’s rotation.

Saturday’s outing vs. the Rays might have been Rodriguez’s better of his 12 massive league begins. He allowed three hits and two walks whereas hanging out six over a career-high-tying 5 2/3 innings. His solely two runs allowed got here on his 93rd and ultimate pitch, which resulted in a two-out single by Wander Franco within the sixth.

“I feel like a totally different pitcher,” mentioned Rodriguez, who had a 7.35 ERA in 10 begins on the time of his demotion. “Back to what I know, I guess, and that’s just being able to go out and get outs.”

Rodriguez generated a career-high 17 whiffs (per Statcast), eight of which got here by way of his four-seam fastball, which averaged 97.3 mph and touched 99.4.

"I see what his numbers are, and I'm form of amazed. Like, who's hitting him?” Rays supervisor Kevin Cash mentioned. “Because it's pretty good stuff -- really good stuff. He's got 20 mph of separation between the fastball and the changeup. He's going to be really good.”

2. Hyde hasn’t misplaced religion in current commerce acquisition Shintaro FujinamiFujinami was traded from Oakland to Baltimore on Wednesday, joined the Orioles on Friday and has instantly been thrust into high-leverage conditions. After permitting one run (by way of a first-pitch leadoff homer) whereas working the seventh inning Friday, the 6-foot-6 Japanese right-hander was inserted into Saturday’s sport when the Orioles had a 5-3 lead within the eighth.

Immediately, Fujinami struggled together with his command, strolling Manuel Margot and Yandy Díaz to open the inning. Both got here round to attain, and Fujinami exited after permitting a game-tying two-out RBI single to Randy Arozarena.

Still, Hyde doesn’t plan on shying away from utilizing Fujinami within the close to future.

“His stuff is great,” Hyde mentioned of the 29-year-old, whose fastball averaged 100.1 mph and touched 101.5. “He’s going to be a huge help for us.”

But Baltimore’s main Trade Deadline goal may nonetheless be so as to add one other high-leverage arm to its bullpen to provide it extra depth, and as added insurance coverage in case Fujinami continues to wrestle in late-inning conditions.

3. The O’s continued their uncanny potential to tug out gritty winsGood groups win shut video games. That’s what the Orioles have accomplished all 12 months -- they’re now 18-9 in one-run contests -- and have continued to do that week in St. Petersburg.

On Thursday, Baltimore manufactured a run with out getting a success within the prime of the tenth. It then turned a one-run lead over to All-Star nearer Félix Bautista, who completed off a 4-3 victory.

Similar occasions unfolded Saturday, when the Orioles got here to the plate with the sport tied within the ninth. Adam Frazier led off with a pinch-hit single off Fairbanks, then superior to second on an unreal sacrifice bunt by James McCann, who one way or the other obtained wooden on a 98.6 mph fastball coming towards his face.

O’Hearn put Baltimore forward together with his knock, after which Bautista labored a 1-2-3 ninth for his twenty seventh save.

“I’ve got Bautista coming in the game, so I’m just trying to score somehow,” Hyde mentioned. “And I’m pinch-hitting O’Hearn behind [McCann] there and, for me, that’s one of our better matchups against Fairbanks. Just try to score a run any way we can sometimes.”

The Orioles did so even after their 5-0 lead -- which they constructed by tagging Rays ace Shane McClanahan for a career-high-tying 5 runs with a rally within the fourth -- had vanished solely a half-inning earlier.

“That’s a good team over there,” McCann mentioned. “When we put up that five-spot, by no means did we think that they were just going to lay over and give us the game. Give them credit for coming back and fighting the way they did. But this team knows that we’re going to grind until the last pitch as well.”

Content Source: www.mlb.com