ST. PETERSBURG -- Pretty, it wasn't. But despite a partial breakdown in the "Jake and The Box" machine, the Rays came up with a 3-2 walk-off win over the Orioles on Saturday at Tropicana Field.With two outs in the ninth inning, Yunel Escobar -- who had reached on an error by Baltimore shortstop Ryan Flaherty to open the frame -- scored the winning run on a passed ball by catcher Nick Hundley. Tampa Bay's first walk-off win on a passed ball clinched a series victory against American League East-leading Baltimore in advance of Sunday's finale. 
An inning earlier, for just the second time all season, Jake McGee couldn't get the job done is relief. Entering the game in the eighth with a 2-1 lead, the left-hander blew his second save in 18 opportunities.McGee walked Steve Pearce to lead off the inning and allowed pinch-runner Quintin Berry to advance to second when he lobbed a pickoff throw over James Loney's head at first base. Nelson Cruz followed with a seeing-eye single past Escobar, scoring Berry to tie the game.Rays starter Drew Smyly, who has consistently kept teams in check during his short tenure with the ballclub, was in line to pick up his fourth win in a Tampa Bay uniform on Saturday.Even the first-place O's could barely manage a scratch against Smyly, who went six strong innings -- with his only blemish being a solo home run by Chris Davis in the second inning. Facing one of baseball's most potent lineups -- Baltimore leads the Major Leagues with 186 long balls -- Smyly allowed four hits and two walks, picking up eight strikeouts along the way.In seven games for the Rays since being acquired from the Tigers on July 31 in a Deadline deal for David Price, Smyly has compiled a 3-1 record with a 1.70 ERA. No other pitcher in Tampa Bay history has a better ERA in his first seven starts.Evan Longoria and Wil Myers drove in runs against Baltimore starter Kevin Gausman in the third inning. Longoria delivered a sacrifice fly to deep center to score Ben Zobrist, and Myers lined and RBI single to plate David DeJesus.Smyly now sits at 153 innings pitched for the season, well above his career highs in the Minors and Majors. With the Rays wanting to keep the 25-year-old to somewhere between 150 and 160 innings, he could be shut down any time now.But that didn't matter on Saturday, when he was the one shutting down the Orioles for the second time in his last three outings. He beat Gausman and the O's in Baltimore on Aug. 27, with seven innings of two-hit, one-run baseball -- with his lone blemish in that game also being a second-inning solo shot by Davis.David Adler / MLB.com
An inning earlier, for just the second time all season, Jake McGee couldn't get the job done is relief. Entering the game in the eighth with a 2-1 lead, the left-hander blew his second save in 18 opportunities.McGee walked Steve Pearce to lead off the inning and allowed pinch-runner Quintin Berry to advance to second when he lobbed a pickoff throw over James Loney's head at first base. Nelson Cruz followed with a seeing-eye single past Escobar, scoring Berry to tie the game.Rays starter Drew Smyly, who has consistently kept teams in check during his short tenure with the ballclub, was in line to pick up his fourth win in a Tampa Bay uniform on Saturday.Even the first-place O's could barely manage a scratch against Smyly, who went six strong innings -- with his only blemish being a solo home run by Chris Davis in the second inning. Facing one of baseball's most potent lineups -- Baltimore leads the Major Leagues with 186 long balls -- Smyly allowed four hits and two walks, picking up eight strikeouts along the way.In seven games for the Rays since being acquired from the Tigers on July 31 in a Deadline deal for David Price, Smyly has compiled a 3-1 record with a 1.70 ERA. No other pitcher in Tampa Bay history has a better ERA in his first seven starts.Evan Longoria and Wil Myers drove in runs against Baltimore starter Kevin Gausman in the third inning. Longoria delivered a sacrifice fly to deep center to score Ben Zobrist, and Myers lined and RBI single to plate David DeJesus.Smyly now sits at 153 innings pitched for the season, well above his career highs in the Minors and Majors. With the Rays wanting to keep the 25-year-old to somewhere between 150 and 160 innings, he could be shut down any time now.But that didn't matter on Saturday, when he was the one shutting down the Orioles for the second time in his last three outings. He beat Gausman and the O's in Baltimore on Aug. 27, with seven innings of two-hit, one-run baseball -- with his lone blemish in that game also being a second-inning solo shot by Davis.David Adler / MLB.com
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