Fastball

Baltimore Orioles Take Back Lead in AL East and Extend Historic Streak in Process

After dropping the first two games of the series, the Baltimore Orioles took back the lead in the American League East with a win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday. In doing so, they extended a historic streak of not getting swept.

Brady Farkas

Baltimore Orioles Take Back Lead in AL East and Extend Historic Streak in Process
Baltimore Orioles Take Back Lead in AL East and Extend Historic Streak in Process /
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After losing the first two games of the series, the Baltimore Orioles took back control of the American League East on Saturday by beating the Tampa Bay Rays 8-0.

The win moved the O's to 92-56 while the loss dropped Tampa to 92-58. Though both teams have the same number of wins, the Orioles lead the division by 1.0 game.

Grayson Rodriguez was the star of the night for Baltimore, delivering the best start of his major league career. The rookie and former top prospect went 8.0 strong innings, surrendering no runs on five hits. He walked none and struck out seven. He's now 6-4 on the year with a 4.53 ERA.

Offensively, the team was paced by the efforts of another rookie, Gunnar Henderson. The shortstop was 3-for-5 with his 27th home run of the season.

In getting the win, the Orioles extended an incredible streak in baseball history, per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

most consecutive series of 2+ games without being swept: 

1942-44 Cardinals: 125 

1903-05 Giants: 106 

2022-pres. Orioles: 87 ** active streak extended w/TB series 

1922-24 Yankees: 83 

h/t @EliasSports

Baltimore hasn't been swept the entire season, and more than half of last season. In today's baseball, that seems unfathomable, but here we are.

The two teams will close out their crucial series on Sunday afternoon. First pitch from Camden Yards is set for 1:35 p.m. ET as Zack Littel (TBR) pitches against Dean Kremer (BAL).

Littel is 3-6 with a 4.25 ERA while Kremer is 12-5 with a 4.25.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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