Major League Baseball

Rays 6, Orioles 3

Published Sep. 4, 2011 3:02 a.m. ET

foxsports

B.J. Upton finally found success again at Tropicana Field.

Upton had five RBIs, Wade Davis pitched effectively into the seventh inning and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-3 on Saturday night.

Upton hit a two-out, three-run double off Alfredo Simon (4-8) to make it 6-2 in the fifth. The Rays tied it at 2 during the first when Upton drove in two runs on a double.

Both of Upton's run-scoring hits came after Matt Joyce drew two-out walks.

''If you're a competitor, you do (take it personally),'' Upton said. ''Nobody likes the guy in front of him walked to get to yourself, so you want to rise to the occasion. It just happened to work out.''

Upton had just 16 RBIs in his previous 63 home games this season. On the road, he has knocked in 45 runs over 66 contests.

''This ballpark is a little tougher on hitters than on pitchers,'' Upton said. ''But when you play here, you can expect that.''

Upton had been 1 for 23 with the bases loaded, dating back to the start of the 2010 season, before his fifth-inning hit.

''He's done it for us in the past and it's in his future,'' Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. ''Don't forget he's still young (27 years old). He's got a lot to learn and when he does, he's going to put up some really sick numbers.''

Davis (9-8) allowed three runs and five hits in 6 2-3 innings. The right-hander struck out five and walked four. Kyle Farnsworth, the third Tampa Bay reliever, pitched the ninth for his 23rd save.

''Little bits of wildness, but overall he pitched well,'' Maddon said of Davis. ''If he gets rid of the walks, he could really be dominant.''

Nick Markakis homered for the Orioles (55-82), who are now saddled with their 14th straight losing record. Baltimore came up short in its bid to win six straight road games for the first time since Aug. 29-Sept 4, 2004.

Simon gave up six runs and seven hits over five-plus innings. He is 1-4 with a 5.80 ERA in his last six starts.

''The command of the fastball has got to be there to pitch at this level,'' Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. ''Tonight wasn't one of those nights.''

Joyce had a third-inning RBI double to give Tampa Bay a 3-2 lead.

Markakis put the Orioles up 2-0 with a two-run shot in the first. He entered with four hits in his previous 38 at-bats.

Baltimore got within 6-3 when Matt Wieters had a run-scoring single in the sixth. Davis avoided further damage by getting an inning-ending double play from Robert Andino with the bases loaded.

''We had some chances to really climb back in that thing,'' Showalter said.

Wieters has driven in 15 runs over his last 13 games.

NOTES: Tampa Bay INF-OF Ben Zobrist was out of the starting lineup because of neck stiffness and is day to day. ... Orioles RHP Tommy Hunter (flulike symptoms) remains on target to pitch Tuesday against the New York Yankees. ... Baltimore LHP Brian Matusz is scheduled to make his next start Monday in New York after being skipped one time through the rotation. ... Tampa Bay bullpen coach Bobby Ramos continues to recover at home from a throat problem. ... Orioles INF Chris Davis (strained right shoulder) is set to play Sunday and Monday at Double-A Bowie. ... Baltimore RHP Jeremy Guthrie (6-16), who is 5-9 with a 4.09 ERA in 17 starts against Tampa Bay, will face Rays RHP Jeremy Hellickson (11-10) in Sunday's series finale.