Alex Colome pitches Rays past Orioles in first game of doubleheader
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Alex Colome was wildly effective in his first start of the season.
Although Colome at times had difficulty getting the ball over the plate, the rookie allowed only two singles over 5 2-3 innings to help the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-2 Friday in the opener of a doubleheader.
Added to the roster for the doubleheader as the 26th man, Colome (1-0) walked four and threw two wild pitches. Forty-one of his 104 pitches missed the strike zone, yet he gave up only one run in his fourth big league start. The right-hander is 2-1 lifetime, including a victory over Miami in his debut on May 30, 2013.
"He was outstanding, wonderful composure," manager Joe Maddon said. "I was really impressed with his way on the mound."
The 25-year-old Colome hoped his performance would provide him the opportunity to get another chance to impress at the big league level.
"I'm very motivated to do the right things," he said through an interpreter. "I want to come up here and show that I belong here and I want to pitch here."
Colome certainly made an impression on Orioles star Adam Jones, who said, "He's got good stuff. He was throwing 92, 96, 97. We put some swings on some balls, but he was better than us today."
It's been a strange year for Colome, who served a 50-game suspension until May 25 for violating the league's drug policy. He was activated by the Rays and pitched four innings in relief against Toronto on May 26 before being optioned to the minors after the game.
In his last start for Triple-A Durham, Colome gave up nine runs in 1 1-3 innings against Syracuse on June 21. He had far more success against the Orioles, holding them to one hit after Nick Markakis opened with a single.
Maddon pulled Colome after the rookie walked Chris Davis in the sixth with slugger Nelson Cruz due up.
"There was a temptation there to leave him in, but after that walk to Davis and Cruz had seen him a couple times, I thought it was wise to move it along," Maddon said.
Jake McGee worked the ninth for his second save.
Brandon Guyer had three doubles, scored twice and drove in a run to help Tampa Bay improve to 2-7 against Baltimore this season. The Rays had lost 11 of their previous 13 games on the road.
Manny Machado homered for the Orioles, who finished with only three hits -- one after the second inning.
Orioles starter Kevin Gausman (3-2) yielded five runs, seven hits and a career-high four walks in five-plus innings.
Gausman, who also served as the 26th man, failed to have a perfect inning and fought with his control for much of the outing. In addition to his four walks, the right-hander hit a batter and threw a wild pitch.
"Obviously, four walks, that's putting a lot of guys on base and I felt like a lot of them happened with two outs and that's huge," Gausman said. "Not only does it kind of get you out of whack, but it also gets your pitch count up."
Baltimore got a first-inning run when Markakis singled and scored on a groundout by Chris Davis.
"I threw one bad pitch and they were able to score a run," Colome said. "When I got out of the inning, I felt like I was going to be OK."
In the Tampa Bay second, Guyer hit an RBI double and came home on a single by Matt Joyce.
A two-out RBI single by Jose Molina made it 3-1 in the fourth. The Rays used doubles by Guyer and Joyce, along with a single by Sean Rodriguez, to add two runs in the sixth.
Machado connected off Brad Boxberger in the seventh. Machado is awaiting word on his appeal of a five-game suspension from Major League Baseball for intentionally throwing his bat onto the field in a June 8 game against Oakland.
NOTES: This game was the makeup for an April 15 rainout. It drew a season-low crowd of 15,614. ... The Orioles put RHP Bud Norris (strained right groin) on the 15-day DL and recalled RHP Evan Meek from Triple-A Norfolk. ... TB SS Yunel Escobar tested his sore right shoulder by playing catch but was not yet ready to return. He last played Tuesday. ... Tampa Bay was slated to start Jake Odorizzi in the second game, marking the second time in franchise history the Rays started two rookie pitchers in a doubleheader. ... Baltimore leads the majors with 36 HRs in June. ... Tampa Bay reached the midpoint of its season with a 33-48 record, worst since 2007.
