Markakis homers, but Simon struggles as Rays even series with victory

Coming into tonight's game the Orioles had given up just 11 runs to Tampa Bay in seven games this year at Tropicana Field. Tonight, B.J. Upton drove in five runs by himself. Upton's big night - he had a two-run double and three-run double - led Tampa Bay to a 6-3 win over the Orioles on Saturday night. The loss was the O's 82nd and clinched a losing record for the Orioles for the 14th consecutive season.

The Birds had been 6-1 on the season on the road against Tampa Bay, outscoring the Rays 30-11. Right-hander Alfredo Simon, coming off back to back solid starts, gave up six runs and seven hits over five innings. It's the first time in eight games this year at the Trop that an O's pitcher did not produce a quality start. Nick Markakis hit his 14th homer, a two-run shot in the top of the first that gave the Orioles an early 2-0 lead. That snapped an 11-game stretch where Markakis had gone 4-for-38 without an RBI. Matt Wieters went 1-for-4 with an RBI single. Over his past 13 games, he is batting .383 with five homers and 15 RBIs. Wieters has at least one RBI in 10 of the last 13 games. The Orioles fall to 55-82 on the year with their fifth loss in the last seven games. They are 7-7 against Tampa Bay and 18-36 in games against the American League East. The Rays improve to 75-63 on the year and they are 22-13 since July 28. Tampa is now 49-7 when scoring five runs or more. In Sunday afternoon's series finale at 1:40, Jeremy Guthrie (6-16, 4.42) pitches for the Orioles against Jeremy Hellickson (11-10, 3.01).