– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA — Somehow, Jose Caballero came to bat in a late game situation that was almost a carbon copy of the position he was in less than 24 hours prior, with an immediate second chance to write yesterday’s wrong. And in all of one pitch, redemption was his.
Caballero’s double with two outs in the seventh led to Dylan Carlson’s game-tying single one batter later, and the Rays proceeded to score a single run in the eighth to complete a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over the Baltimore Orioles to avoid a sweep inside Tropicana Field on Sunday afternoon. Jeffrey Springs allowed just one run while striking out eight without a walk as the win moved the Rays to one game over .500 at 59-58.
Despite Springs’ stellar start, he and the Rays were on the short end of a 1-0 game with two outs in the seventh, the only run coming on Anthony Santander’s 35th home run in the fourth. Albert Suárez had shut out the Rays for 6 2/3 innings before being lifted for left-hander Cionel Pérez, who came on to face Caballero for a second game running.
Unlike Saturday, when Caballero flied out with the bases loaded with two outs to preserve the Orioles’ 7-5 win, the situation occurred with the bases empty. And unlike Saturday, Caballero did not miss when he saw Pérez’s four-seam fastball, ripping the first pitch of today’s at against him to left field for a double. One batter later, Carlson singled to shallow center to bring Caballero home to tie the game.
“I wanted to face him again, and I wanted that pitch back, and I got it,” Caballero said. “”I wish I got it last night as well, but it’s good to do it at least today.”
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Sunday afternoon’s game, with photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Roberto Carlo. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page. Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 24 pictures in total.
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