Gary Sanchez hit a go-ahead home run and Colton Cowser doubled three times as the Baltimore Orioles wiped out a six-run deficit to beat the visiting Tampa Bay Rays 22-8 in Friday night’s series opener.

Gunnar Henderson’s four hits included a home run and a triple while Sanchez had four hits and drove in four runs as the Orioles snapped Tampa Bay’s three-game winning streak. Coby Mayo homered and knocked in four runs and Jackson Holliday homered for his only hit in seven at-bats. Ramon Laureano and Cowser each scored four times as Tampa Bay tied its franchise record for most runs allowed in a game.

Brandon Lowe’s three-run homer was the third long ball of Tampa Bay’s second inning, but his four runs batted in and three hits weren’t nearly enough as the Rays lost for the second time in their last seven games. Jonathan Aranda and Josh Lowe also homered for Tampa Bay while Yandy Diaz and Danny Jansen added two hits apiece.

Baltimore starting pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano (6-4) was the winner despite giving up seven runs on nine hits in five innings.

Tampa Bay starter Ryan Pepiot recorded five outs before his outing was done, allowing four runs on five hits with two walks and one strikeout. Eric Orze (1-1), the Rays’ second of six relievers, gave up the lead in the Orioles’ three-run fifth.

By that point, Tampa Bay’s 6-0 lead was largely an afterthought. Baltimore kept adding runs until a trio of players — Holliday, Henderson and Mayo — blasted home runs in the eighth to bloat the lead to 14 runs.

Aranda led off the second inning with his ninth home run of the season and, two batters later, Josh Lowe smashed his fifth. The Rays weren’t done as Chandler Simpson walked with two outs, stole second and scored on Jansen’s single. Brandon Lowe put the finishing touch on the early outburst with his 17th homer of the season.

The Orioles struck back in the bottom of the second on Mayo’s two-run double. Then Urias, pinch hitting for injured Jordan Westburg, posted a two-out, two-run single.

Baltimore closed the gap to 6-5 in the third with an unearned run. Brandon Lowe’s two-out single gave the Rays a 7-5 edge in the fourth.

The Orioles got back-to-back doubles from Laureano and Cowser to begin the bottom of the fifth before Sanchez’s go-ahead homer off Orze.

–Field Level Media