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Wilson Ramos slam powers Rays by Orioles

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Wilson Ramos hit his third career grand slam, Evan Longoria also went deep and the Tampa Bay Rays throttled Ubaldo Jimenez in an 8-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night.

Alex Cobb earned his career-high 12th win for the Rays, who interrupted a 4-9 slide and kept alive their slim playoff hopes.

Ramos connected in the second inning and Longoria homered in the third for a 5-2 lead. Both drives came off Jimenez, who likely pitched his final home game with the Orioles following a rocky four-year stint.

Jimenez (6-11) gave up six runs and eight hits in three innings. He was booed lustily by the home fans after each Tampa Bay home run.

Since signing his $50 million contract in 2014, Jimenez has at times been effective. Mostly though, he’s been a disappointment.

Jimenez has a 6.81 ERA this season after bouncing between the rotation and the bullpen. He’s 2-4 with a 7.86 ERA at Camden Yards, and the fans have been anything but forgiving.

The right-hander’s only winning season with the Orioles came in 2015, when he went 12-10, and he’s 32-42 overall with Baltimore.

After a 1-2-3 first inning, Jimenez hit a batter to open the second and gave up successive singles to load the bases for Ramos, who lined a shot over the wall in left-center.

That was enough offense for Cobb (12-10), who allowed three runs and nine hits in six innings. The right-hander is 6-2 lifetime against the Orioles, including 2-1 in four starts this season.

Chris Davis hit his 25th home run for Baltimore. The defeat left the Orioles at 74-81, so they will have to win their final seven games to avoid their first losing season since 2011.

RECORD BOOK FODDER

Rays: Tampa Bay has hit 216 home runs this season, matching the club record set last season. Ramos almost hit No. 217, but a replay on his eighth-inning drive reversed the original call of a homer into a double.

Orioles: Adam Jones had two hits to up his total with Baltimore to 1,615 and move past Brady Anderson into fourth place on the team list. … With his 224th HR as an Oriole, Davis moved past Rafael Palmeiro into sole possession of sixth place on the team’s career list.

TRAINER’S ROOM

UP NEXT

Rays: RHP Jake Odorizzi (9-8, 4.46 ERA), who is 1-0 with a 6.10 ERA in two starts against Baltimore this season, starts for Tampa Bay on Saturday night.

Orioles: Jeremy Hellickson (2-5, 7.29 ERA), who pitched for the Rays from 2010-14, makes his first career start against Tampa Bay. He was obtained by Baltimore from the Phillies shortly before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

Republished with permission from the Associated Press.

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