Hess wins his major league debut as O's beat the Rays (quotes added)

Making his major league debut today, Orioles right-hander David Hess gave up a three-run homer to the fourth batter he faced. It got better for him after that. A lot better.

Hess pitched scoreless ball from the second through the sixth today to get the win as the Orioles beat Tampa Bay 6-3 for their fourth consecutive victory. They are 4-1 on this homestand and 12-27 for the season. The Rays have lost five straight and eight of 11.

Hess got Denard Span to fly out to start his day. But two singles followed and Tampa Bay third baseman Matt Duffy came up. He hit a first pitch fastball at 94 mph over the wall in left for a 3-0 Rays lead and not the start to his debut Hess was looking for. Brad Miller then smoked a single. But then, O's third baseman Jace Peterson made a big play to help Hess. He snared a hard-hit grounder to his backhand side and got an out that looked like it was heading down the line for a double. Hess than fanned Mallex Smith on a slider, and his day started trending up.

From the second through the sixth, Tampa Bay went just 2-for-17 against him, and the Orioles then backed him with five runs over the second and third innings.

Hess threw 78 pitches with 56 strikes over six innings, allowing six hits and three runs with no walks and three strikeouts. Hess threw 40 fastballs and 26 sliders, so he relied heavily on those two pitches. He averaged 93 mph on his four-seamer and topped out at 95 mph. It was quite a debut for Hess, especially in how he regrouped after that first inning.

The Orioles hit three more homers to back him today, and they've hit 10 in the last three games and 14 in the five games on this homestand.

Jonathan Schoop led off the second with a homer to bring the Orioles within 3-1, and Chance Sisco's RBI double made it 3-2. The Orioles tied the game by pulling off a double steal. With Peterson at first and Sisco on third with two outs, Peterson broke for second. The Rays threw late to the bag as Sisco came down the line with a steal of home.

It was Sisco's first career stolen base. He is the first Oriole to have a steal of home for his first stolen base since Cal Ripken Jr. on May 31, 1982 versus Texas.

Schoop and Manny Machado hit back-to-back homers off losing pitcher Chris Archer an inning later as the Orioles took a 5-3 lead in the third. It was No. 3 for Schoop and No. 13 for Machado, who has hit four homers his last three games and 10 over his past 21.

For Schoop, it was career homer No. 92. That ties him with Brian Roberts for the most ever by an O's second baseman. Schoop today produced his first multi-homer game of the year and seventh of his career.

The Orioles made it 6-3 in the sixth when Mark Trumbo drilled a leadoff double, went to third on a grounder and scored on an Archer wild pitch. Trumbo went 2-for-4 and is batting .341. On the mound, right-hander Mychal Givens got the last five outs to record his first-career save.

The Orioles will go for a doubleheader sweep in the second game when Alex Cobb (0-4, 7.61 ERA) pitches against righty Matt Andriese (0-1, 3.92 ERA).

David Hess postgame quotes:

Thrilled to win his debut: "I can't really even put it into words. It is just an experience that you literally dream about since you were a kid. It is hard to put into words, but it definitely has been everything and more that I hoped it would be."

On his last 24 hours: "It's pretty crazy. I know you guys are probably aware that I had a lot of family here. So, getting everything organized and situated with that was a lot of fun. Just everyone was real cooperative. The staff here and everyone has been great. So it's been a really exciting process and experience, and something I'll never forget."

Did you have many nerves?: "I didn't really feel that much, to be honest with you. After that home run everything kind of slowed down a little bit. So without even realizing it, there may have been some. After that, just kind of settled in and felt like I was able to make the pitches I wanted to make. Chance called a great game, we were on the same page. You can't beat that. It felt like we were back at Bowie."

On pitching on three days' rest: "I think, more than anything, just going out there and not even thinking about that. Whatever the circumstances are, just go out there and compete any time I get the ball.