A look at a series-opening loss, Mountcastle's torrid bat and more

It was another night when the Orioles got a short outing from a starting pitcher, but the way Tampa Bay's Tyler Glasnow was throwing it was not going to matter. Glasnow was dominant last night as Tampa Bay beat the Orioles 7-0 to take the series and homestand opener.

It's not a bad combination for a pitcher when you throw 99 mph, as Glasnow did in the first inning, and combine that with a curveball that three batters took for called third strikes. It didn't get much better for Baltimore batters after that as Glasnow improved to 6-0 with a 1.47 ERA with seven scoreless innings.

Glasnow threw 51 four-seam fastballs with an average velocity of 97.2 mph and he topped out at 99.7. He added 30 curveballs and 11 changeups, one of which was thrown at 94.5 mph. Yep, a changeup.

Glasnow looks like an ace in the making and he now has five quality starts this year while the entire O's rotation has produced four. The Rays are now 21-11 while the Orioles fall to 11-22 and are 10 1/2 games out in the American League East.

More notes on the Orioles and Rays:

* Dwight Smith Jr. had a pair of singles in four at-bats Friday night while the rest of the team went 3-for-27. Smith is now batting .299. It was Smith's 10th multi-hit game, which ranks third on the team. Smith is a career .440 hitter (11-for-25) in nine career games against the Rays.

* The Orioles were shut out for the second time (also April 14 at Boston), went without an extra-base hit for the first time and had no runner reach second base. They didn't have an at-bat all night with a runner in scoring position.

* The Rays recorded their third shutout. They also blanked the Rockies on April 2 and the Giants on April 7. It was their first shutout at Oriole Park since April 25, 2017.

* The Orioles are 1-3 against Tampa Bay this season and 9-14 since the beginning of last year.

* O's starting pitchers have thrown five or fewer innings 26 times on the season, and that has happened in eight straight games. O's starters have gone 4 1/3 or fewer innings five times in the past seven games.

* Rio Ruiz went 1-for-3 with a single and has reached base safely in 22 of his 27 starts. He is batting .440 (11-for-25) the second time facing a pitcher in a game, the highest such average on the Orioles.

On the farm Friday night: The Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds have had a lot of heroes this year during what is now a stunning 21-4 start. Last night outfielder Robbie Thorburn came up big with a two-run homer and RBI double. His double in the eighth broke a 5-5 tie as Delmarva won 6-5 at Asheville. The night before, Thorburn's homer provided the only run in the Shorebirds' 1-0 win.

Righty Grayson Rodriguez made his fourth start, but first since April 18. He was skipped his last turn to help keep his season innings total down. Last night he did not get a decision. Over 3 2/3 innings he allowed five hits and two runs (one earned) as his ERA rose to 0.89 after he threw 75 pitches. Reliever Tyler Joyner gave up three runs but picked up his league-leading fifth win. Tim Naughton recorded his league-leading sixth save.

First-place Delmarva has won four in a row and has opened a three-game lead atop the Northern Division of the South Atlantic League.

Triple-A Norfolk won for the sixth time in eight games, beating Charlotte 10-2. Ryan Mountcastle produced his sixth straight multi-hit game, raising his average to .342. During the six games, Mountcastle is 16-for-29 (.552) with four doubles, a homer and four RBIs. He has a 10-game hitting streak overall. Catcher Chance Sisco had three hits and three RBIs, and Cedric Mullins went 3-for-5 with a three-run homer off a lefty. Right-hander Tyler Herb, acquired in a trade with the San Francisco Giants for Mike Yastrzemski, went seven innings allowing one unearned run. In two games with Norfolk, he is 2-0 with an ERA of 0.75.

Single-A Frederick blanked Lynchburg 5-0 as righty David Lebron allowed four hits over six innings. He fanned a career-high eight and lowered his ERA to 2.95. Mason McCoy went 2-for-5 with an RBI and is now batting .384.

Erie beat Double-A Bowie 5-0, holding the Baysox to two singles. Lefty Alex Wells took the loss. Over four innings he gave up six hits and three runs.