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BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Orioles did not use their power while winning the first game of Saturday's doubleheader with Tampa Bay. Maybe they were saving it for the nightcap. Chris Davis homered and later singled in the go-ahead run, and Matt Wieters banged out two homers as the Baltimore Orioles hit four blasts overall en route an 8-6 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays to complete a sweep.
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The Orioles (44-30) have won four straight games, including the first three of this series and sit a season-high 14 games over .500. Tampa Bay (31-42) has dropped 10 in a row.
It's a big victory for the Orioles, who head out on a long West Coast trip after Sunday's series finale.
"It's good, normally you come in to win one, and after you win the first one, we were able to strap it back on and play," Wieters said. "It's tough to win two in a doubleheader and especially against (Tampa Bay starter Jake) Odorizzi, who's been tough against us. But we were able to fight back and get a win today."
Baltimore's power sparked another comeback victory.
The Orioles got a two-run homer plus a solo blast from Wieters. Davis and Adam Jones added solo homers as Odorizzi and the Tampa Bay bullpen faded after the Rays took early leads of 4-0 and 6-3.
But in addition to the power, the Baltimore defense stepped up again. Jones made a diving catch with the bases loaded in the third and the Rays already up four.
"Huge play; it's like a double play ball," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "That game can get away from you right there. I'm glad that we make note of that. That's a huge play that will get overlooked by some."
The Orioles also turned three double plays, two of which stopped scoring threats and ended innings. They needed that because starter Chris Tillman labored through five innings.
The Rays took an early 4-0 lead in this game against Tillman, who allowed six runs in five innings while going for his 10th straight victory, but Tampa Bay could not hold it.
"I'll take the blame for the loss today," Odorizzi said. "I kind of left our bullpen out to dry. It was a bad time for a bad game with the team scuffling and we had a lead."
The Orioles rolled to a 5-0 victory in the opener thanks to 7 2/3 innings of shutout pitching from right-hander Kevin Gausman.
The Davis homer cut the Rays' lead to 6-5 in the sixth in the nightcap before Baltimore rallied for two in the seventh. Joey Rickard led off with a double off of Erasmo Ramirez (7-6) and scored on Jones' game-tying single.
Later in the inning, Davis greeted Xavier Cedeno with his RBI single to right that snapped the 6-6 tie. Wieters' second homer of the night, a solo shot off Danny Farquhar, gave the Orioles a little insurance one inning later.
Wieters finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs.
T.J. McFarland (2-2) earned the victory with a scoreless sixth and seventh. Brad Brach worked out of a two-on, none-out jam in the eighth before Zach Britton closed it in the ninth.
Britton has posted saves in all 23 of his save opportunities.
Hank Conger homered for the Rays while Logan Morrison and Brad Miller each had three hits and an RBI to pace a 14-hit attack.
Tampa Bay scored a run in each of the first two innings and took a 2-0 lead. Morrison's RBI single made it 1-0 in the first inning, and Conger homered to right in the second.
The Rays added two more runs in the third, and it could have been more. Desmond Jennings got an RBI double, and Conger walked with the bases loaded to give the Rays a 4-0 lead.
Jaff Decker then lined a shot to right-center that Jones made a diving catch on, saving two or three runs. The Orioles scored in the bottom of the inning when Nolan Reimold led off with a double, and Rickard followed with a single to left.
Wieters hit a two-run homer in the fourth but the Rays bounced back with two in the fifth. Miller lined an RBI double, and Oswaldo Arcia celebrated his first start with Tampa Bay with a sacrifice fly that made it 6-3.
Jones then cut the lead to 6-4 with his 10th homer this month, which came with one out in the fifth as the Orioles rallied.
"Long day at the ballpark," Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. "Long day for all of us, and it's get longer when you lose a ball game like that. We just came up short. We're competing. The effort is there."
NOTES: For the Orioles, the opener was just the seventh game at home this season without a home run. But Baltimore's done fine in them anyway, going 6-1. ... The shutout of the Rays in the opener is the fourth for the Orioles against any team this season. The last came June 8 versus Kansas City (4-0). ... Tampa Bay scored a run in the first inning of this game, breaking a streak of 17 consecutive innings without one. The Rays hadn't gotten on the scoreboard since the first inning of Friday's game and were shut out in the opener of this doubleheader. ... The Rays are hoping Drew Smyly can continue his dominance against Baltimore in the series finale Sunday. Smyly is 4-0 with a 1.82 ERA in eight career games (five starts) against the Orioles.
