Orioles rookie Dylan Beavers’ clutch walk-off hit vs. Rays puts him in elite company

Baltimore Orioles rookie Dylan Beavers came through with a clutch hit in the 10th inning Saturday to secure a 3-2 win over the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays. Entering as a pinch hitter for Carlos Narvaez in the bottom of the 10th, Beavers fell behind 0-2 before working the count back and driving a changeup below the knees into right-center field. The ball struck the wall, allowing automatic runner Leody Taveras to score without a play.

The walk-off double was the fourth game of Beavers’ career featuring a walk-off RBI. That is tied for the most by any player in his first 110 games since RBI became an official statistic in 1920, and puts Beavers alongside Christian Encarnacion-Strand, David Bote, Elijah Dukes, Cliff Bolton and Charlie Hargreaves. Beavers, Encarnacion-Strand and Bolton are the only players among the group whose walk-off RBIs all came on hits.

Beavers’ heroics completed a comeback that began in the eighth inning. Baltimore had been held scoreless for seven innings before Samuel Basallo entered as a pinch hitter and launched his first career pinch-hit home run. The rookie’s two-run shot traveled 411 feet and tied the game at 2.

The Orioles’ defense then preserved the deadlock in the ninth. Tyler O’Neill made a diving catch on a shallow ball from Richie Palacios to prevent a potential go-ahead run. In the 10th, Rico Garcia also stopped Tampa Bay from taking the lead when he fielded Taylor Walls’ bunt attempt and threw home to retire the potential scoring runner.

Brandon Young gave Baltimore 5.2 innings, surrendering two runs on six hits. Liam Hicks opened the scoring with a second-inning home run, while Junior Caminero drove in the Rays second run in the sixth. Tampa Bay entered the game leading the AL East and has now dropped three consecutive games and seven of their last nine.

The win moved the Orioles to 63-67 and clinched another series victory over the Rays, with the team set to pursue a sweep in Sunday’s finale.

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