O's fall one run short on opening day at The Trop

The team that beat the Orioles more than any other last year beat them again today. But the two-time defending American League East champion Tampa Bay Rays had to dig deep to pull out the game with a late rally in the season opener at Tropicana Field.

Pinch-hitter Francisco Mejía’s sacrifice fly with one out and the bases loaded in the last of the eighth broke the 1-1 tie as the Rays won 2-1 behind strong pitching and two sac flies.

O’s batters were held to seven hits by six Tampa Bay pitchers. The O’s struck out 14 times today, went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.

O’s lefty John Means gave his team a solid outing, just not a very long one.

The final numbers will say Means pitched much better on opening day last year when he threw seven scoreless innings on one hit at Boston. But today he navigated a couple of times through the Rays lineup, as they made him work very hard and elevated his pitch count, which got to 84 for four innings.

Means struck out Randy Arozarena on a nifty changeup to end the first with a man on second and that pitch would be pretty solid for him throughout his outing. Means allowed two runners with two outs in the second, which included Josh Lowe drawing a two-out 10-pitch walk. But Means got out of that jam, getting No. 9 hitter Kevin Kiermaier to pop out.

The Rays hit a couple of balls hard and broke the 0-0 deadlock in the last of the third.

Yandy Díaz led off with a single lasered into right at 109 mph. Wander Franco then singled to make him 2-for-2 in three frames. After a strikeout, Arozarena’s single to left was hit hard at 110 mph to load the bases. Then second baseman Brandon Lowe hit a ball deep enough to right to score the first run of this game and season for these two teams.  

Means, making his second straight opening day start, went four innings, allowing six hits and the one run with one walk and five strikeouts. He threw 56 strikes among his 84 pitches. He got 11 swings and misses on 48 swings, including on six of his 18 changeups this afternoon.  

The Orioles, who missed out on a big scoring chance in the first inning, finally scored to tie the game in the top of the sixth. Left fielder Anthony Santander mashed a 2-2 slider from reliever JT Chargois 411 feet to center for a 1-1 tie.

The Orioles have been shut out on opening day just twice in club history. In 1954, in the first game ever for the Orioles, they fell 3-0 to  Detroit with Don Larsen the losing pitcher. And they lost to Milwaukee 12-0 in 1988.

The Orioles went 1-18 versus the Rays last season, losing by big numbers and small ones. They were 0-5 in 2021 in games between the teams decided by two runs or less.

In the second game of the season and series on Saturday afternoon, right-hander Jordan Lyles (10-13, 5.15 ERA in 2021) faces Rays righty Drew Rasmussen (4-1, 2.84 ERA in 2021).