ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Brett Phillips, Randy Arozarena and Francisco Mejia homered as the Tampa Bay Rays, despite losing hot-hitting Harold Ramirez to a broken thumb, beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-5 on Sunday.
Ramirez, who was batting .329 in 77 games as a first baseman/outfielder, was hit in the right thumb by a pitch from Jordan Lyles in the first. Ramirez stayed in the game, scored a run and exited the next inning. He will be reevaluated in two weeks.
“You feel for Harold,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. “He cares a lot. He’s just really frustrated. … Might have been putting together his best season. Hopefully he’s a quick healer.”
The Rays are 51-41 and hold the top spot in the AL wild-card race despite having 15 players on the injured list. They enter the All-Star break at least 10 games over .500 for the sixth time — they made the playoffs the first five times.
Rougned Odor and Austin Hays homered for Baltimore, which is 46-46 at the break after going 52-110 last season.
“I think we’re in a good spot,” Lyles said. “We’re a couple games out of one of the last wild-card spots. No one would have signed us up for us. I think in spring training we would have signed up for it ourselves, but I think we’re better than that. I think a lot of guys in the clubhouse after the last few weeks know we’re better than that.
“I don’t think we’re here to go away,” Lyles added. “We’re here to stay.”
Corey Kluber (6-5) gave up four runs and eight hits over six innings to win his third consecutive start. It’s the first time he has won three starts in a row since May 30-June 10, 2018.
Jason Adam worked the ninth to get his fourth save in five chances.
Phillips, who started the day hitting .060 (5-for-84) since May 24, put the Rays up 6-0 with a three-run homer in the third off Lyles (6-8). It ended Phillips’ 101 at-bat home run drought.
“Oh man, it feels great … It felt like my first homer in the big leagues just because it’s been so long,” Phillips said.
Phillips drew a leadoff walk in the second from Lyles and scored to make it 3-0 on Josh Lowe‘s two-out double.
Lyles, coming off four consecutive outings of 100 or more pitches, allowed six runs and six hits over 2 2/3 innings. Phillips’ homer ended the righty’s day on his 70th pitch.
Bryan Baker replaced Lyles and struck out all five batters he faced to become the eighth pitcher in Orioles history to go 1 2/3 innings or more out of the bullpen and record all his outs on strikeouts.
Hays made it 7-5 in the eighth when he homered on Pete Fairbanks‘ first pitch of the season. The Rays reliever had been out with a right lat strain.
Arozarena hit a two-run homer in the first. He went 2-for-4 and has a .380 batting average (46-for-121) with 13 homers and 29 RBIs in 30 career games against the Orioles.
Kluber hit Anthony Santander in the lower leg leading off the fourth, which keyed a two-run inning that had RBI singles by Adley Rutschman and Ramon Urias. Kluber limited the damage by getting a pair of outs with the bases loaded and one out.
Odor’s two-run homer in the sixth got Baltimore within 6-4. Mejia homered in the bottom half.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.