The key two-run fifth began when Orioles catcher Luis Exposito was allowed to take first on a pop-out when it was ruled his bat hit the mitt of Rays catcher Chris Gimenez. He later scored on Jones' single. Both runs in the second were unearned when the Rays committed three errors.
"You never see Tampa with five errors," Jones said. "Just take advantage of them. Today wasn't the cleanest-played game, but we were able to get a bigger hit than them."
As a result, the Orioles walked away with another win. Now they have a chance to sweep the Rays, who came into Baltimore tied with the Orioles for first place.
That seemed unthinkable in April. But maybe it isn't as crazy in May.
"A lot of people are asking me, "Are you surprised at this team?' We're not surprised," said reliever Pedro Strop, who contributed another perfect inning Saturday. "We aren't surprised. We've been doing what we were hoping. A lot of people are surprised, but we're not. We are going to keep winning games."
dan.connolly@baltsun.com
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By Dan Connolly
The Baltimore Sun
