A rally, a relay and a win

The Orioles need to figure out a way to start games in the second inning. Petition Major League Baseball to eliminate the first inning. That would speed up the game and provide a huge assist to the club's rotation.

The starters have registered a 6.00 ERA in the opening frame this season, and Ubaldo Jimenez fattened it up tonight on Evan Longoria's two-run homer.

Richie Shaffer hit a two-run shot in the second inning, his first of the season, before Jimenez settled down. The good Ubaldo was back, but was it too late?

Pedro Alvarez and Chris Davis hit solo home runs and Hyun Soo Kim came within a Kevin Kiermaier leap of a grand slam in the seventh. None of it was sufficient coverage at the time and the Orioles appeared to be headed for another crucial loss to the Rays.

That's before they figured out how to turn two walks, a hit batter, an infield hit, a sacrifice fly and a perfectly executed relay into a thrilling 5-4 victory before 30,094 at Camden Yards.

The Orioles executed a 7-5-2 putout to end the game, with Michael Bourn gathering Alexei Ramirez's ball down the left field line and firing to Manny Machado, who threw home to get Mikie Mahtook for the final out. The Rays asked for a review, thinking Matt Wieters blocked the plate, but the call stood.

Brach Brach notched his ninth win, Zach Britton had his 44th save after narrowly avoiding his first misstep, and the Orioles won their 81st game to guarantee their fifth straight non-losing season.

The Red Sox also won to keep the Orioles two games back in the American League East.

Bourn moved from right field to left in the ninth and Drew Stubbs was inserted in right. Britton got the first two outs, with Steve Souza Jr. flying to the left field track, but Mahtook reached on an infield hit, the ball deflecting off second base, and Ramirez lined a single to left. I thought it should have been scored a double - he had rounded second base as the Orioles were completing their relay - but the important point was that a run didn't score.

Bourn lifted a sacrifice fly to left field in the eighth inning to break a 4-4 tie after Brad Boxberger walked Jonathan Schoop and Alvarez, nicked Wieters and was burned by J.J. Hardy's game-tying infield single, the shortstop's third hit of the night and the 11th in his last 21 at-bats.

The Orioles are 81-66 overall and 46-26 at home. They're now 12-5 against the Rays, a team they were supposed to bully in this four-game series.

This is why they don't play the games on paper - besides the enormous cost of constantly replacing the paper.

The Rays don't like to be called "spoilers," but they keep harassing the Blue Jays and they took the first game of this series. They appeared set to make it two straight before the eighth inning. And before the relay heard 'round the Harbor.

Before a little small ball worked in their favor. Before the baseball gods stopped tweaking their nipples.

The Orioles loaded the bases in the seventh on one-out singles by Hardy and Bourn off Chris Archer and a Danny Farquhar pitch that nailed Adam Jones. Kim followed with his drive to center field. It had slam written all over it - making me wonder if it was an authentic Major League baseball. Kiermaier rose above the fence and brought back the ball, only to have it pop out of his glove.

Only one run scored. That also was a shot.

Hardy crossed the plate and Jones frantically motioned for Bourn to go to third. Still loaded, still one out and Farquhar struck out Machado and Davis.

It wasn't the dagger that so many anticipated.

Jimenez righted himself and retired 12 of 13 batters after Shaffer's home run, and 10 in a row after Logan Forsythe's single later in the second. Longoria reached on an infield hit leading off the sixth and was thrown out trying to steal.

Jimenez allowed four runs and seven hits in seven innings, with no walks, eight strikeouts and two home runs. He threw 92 pitches. Probably had more in the tank, but manager Buck Showalter summoned Brach.

The Orioles squandered a chance to perhaps tie the game in the bottom of the first after back-to-back one-out errors by left fielder Brad Miller, who reached for Kim's fly ball as if it had rabies, and catcher Bobby Wilson. Davis grounded into a double play to end the threat.

Hardy singled off Chris Archer with two outs in the second, but Bourn struck out.

Jones led off the third with a single and was erased on Kim's double play ball. Wieters walked with two outs in the fourth and Hardy popped up. Kim singled with two outs in the fifth and Machado flied to center field.

In the end, it's probably forgotten.

Alvarez has 21 home runs this season. Davis has 38 home runs and 201strikeouts. Most important, they got a win in a game that looked like it would never swing in their favor.

Here's Showalter:

On the relay: "Yeah, that was something they work diligently on and they've been doing it for quite a while. But there are a lot of elements to that play, the execution of it. Mike got it out of there in a hurry and got the ball back in fair ground so you create a good angle to throw the ball to third. A lot of guys make the mistake of throwing that ball on a straight line to home plate and it blocks the lane to throw in. Chris held him on there, cut him down a step or two. Zach quick to the plate. A lot of elements. But it all goes back to Ubaldo. Pitched those last five innings real well. Probably one of the keys to the game for me."

On Kiermaier play: "There was some pretty good baserunning. A lot of guys would have passed each other. I think everybody kind of kept their wits and concentration and didn't get caught up in the emotion of it. I actually thought it was a pretty good baserunning play. A lot of people would have passed each other or been retreating, but they kept their eyes on the ball.

"They're good. Didn't he win a Gold Glove? People at this level, you don't say, 'Oh my gosh.' Everything has to be earned and our guys know that. Nobody's going to give it to you. You've got to earn it. Our guys did tonight. Came close to doing it last night."

On the eighth-inning rally: "There's a lot of good at-bats there. Jon, a very patient walk. Matty got hit by a pitch. And I thought Pete had a real unemotional at-bat. It's so easy to get caught up in the emotion this time of the year and get out of yourself and try to get too aggressive with the game and not let it come to you. And J.J.'s very quietly been very solid for us for a while. Michael made a real contribution tonight."

On Bourn's value: "Mike's been through a lot of situations like this in his career. That's why we wanted to have him. And tonight was a good example of it. He's not going to panic when his finger's on the trigger."

On difference in Jimenez after the second inning: "Command. He's centering up a lot of balls. I thought his split split a little more and his slider slid a little more. His fastball was in a better quadrant of the plate than it was the first couple innings."

On staff's first inning woes: "That's part of the game. I'm more interested in the end product, the end game. If you as a pitcher get so immersed in that, oh my gosh, you don't pitch five shutout innings after that. Yeah, we'd like for it not to happen.

"Believe me, our guys are very aware of every little thing that they're going to be critiqued on. So if the runs are scored in the third or fourth inning ... we've tried a lot of things."