O's bottom of the order drives in nine runs in rout (with quotes)

Suddenly it seems, getting offense for the Orioles is no longer a problem. Not the last two nights anyway, and the offense has shown better production since the All-Star break.

Tonight, the bottom of the order led the way as the Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays 11-2 for their second straight blowout win. They've won two of the first three games in this four-game series to get to 31-74 with three wins in four games.

Batting in the last three spots in the Baltimore order tonight, Trey Mancini, Joey Rickard and Caleb Joseph combined to go 10-for-12 with two doubles, two homers, seven runs and nine RBIs.

Meanwhile, right-hander Kevin Gausman held the Rays in check, allowing nine hits and two runs over seven innings. He threw 106 pitches and improved to 5-8 with a 4.43 ERA with his team-leading 11th quality start.

The Orioles now have three quality starts the last three games. They had just one in the previous 16 games.

The Orioles were down 1-0 in the second when Mancini hit a two-run homer to left and Rickard followed with a solo shot to left off the opener, right-hander Ryne Stanek. It was Mancini's 13th homer, and he had just one his previous 19 games. Rickard's five-RBI game matched his career high. The first time he had one was on May 13, and that was also against his former team, the Rays. Rickard has eight RBIs the past two games. The homers from Mancini and Rickard produced the O's seventh back-to-back homers this season. Mancini went 4-for-4, adding three singles for his first career four-hit night.

After Tampa Bay pulled to within 3-2 in the top of the third, the Orioles pulled away, scoring four runs each in the fourth and sixth innings. Rickard had his second three-run double in two games in the fourth.

The Orioles went 5-for-10 with runners in scoring position. They've scored 26 runs the past two games, going 13-for-26 with RISP. This was the fourth time in eight games since the break they've scored seven runs or more. In those eight games, the Orioles have scored 51 runs with 14 homers and have gone 22-for-62 with RISP.

The Orioles' Jonathan Schoop was denied a major league record in the last of the eighth. Rays left fielder Joey Wendle made a leaping catch against him at the fence. That ball probably would have gone out otherwise. Schoop would have been first second baseman in major league history to homer in six straight games.

But Schoop and the Birds will happily take the win with another night of big offense, and they'll try to win this series on Sunday afternoon at 1:05 p.m.

Postgame quotes

Mancini on having a big night on his bobblehead night: "I was telling Gary and Bordy in the postgame show maybe we should have done this back in May. Get the ball rolling. It was a cool night here. Definitely something appreciated."

Mancini relieved to break out on offense for at least this night: "Feels really good. I can go through a laundry list of people that have helped me throughout the whole year. I think Schoopy this month. We were going through it together for a while. He just knew the whole time. Every day he just said, 'I'm too good to keep doing this and I'll break out and start hitting.' That is exactly what he did. He didn't change his attitude or anything like that. It's pretty cool to be around that every day, and I'm trying to do the same thing myself. Just think less during the game and trust my abilities. Being around a guy like that definitely helps you through tough times."

Did Mancini wonder where this offense has been all year?: "You do, in a sense. But at the same time, the past is in the past and we can't change that. Our job is come here every day and try to win games. The last two days have been fun. We've had great crowds out here and it's been a good weekend so far."

How does your bobblehead look?: "Pretty good. I was wondering how much extra time it took to paint the scruff on my face. They did a great job and it was a cool thing to have that tonight."

Gausman on his outing and all the offense: "You know, Caleb, we were just on the same page from the get-go. He called a great game. I gave up too many hits for my liking, but my defense played great and just tried to pound the strike zone. It's great, kind of give yourself a little room to breathe (with all those runs). Kind of hard to come by this year, but obviously the last two nights, we've been swinging the bats really well. When it's going like that, you just try to not be the one to mess it up."

Rickard on back-to-back big nights on offense: "Just staying aggressive. Sticking to the game plan that the coaches talk about before. Just see a pitch up and try to put a good swing on it. It was good to see Trey do that on his bobblehead day. That makes it special."

Rickard on doing this versus his former Tampa Bay team: "It is just coincidence. Like you said, it's been a few years. But just knowing those guys, it's good to see guys I came up with in the big leagues and it's fun competing against them."