Severino with a slam, Means with a gem as O's top Tampa Bay

After scoring just three runs in the first two games of this series - and going 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position - the Orioles offense turned to the longball to get it done tonight.

The Orioles got three homers, including a grand slam from catcher Pedro Severino, to back a strong John Means outing. They beat Tampa Bay 7-1 after losing the first two in this series.

But it took a few innings for the offense to get going. The Orioles spoiled a bases-loaded chance in the first, getting just one run on a wild pitch as Severino bounced into a 6-4-3 double play.

But given a second chance with the sacks full, Severino hit his first career slam to make it 5-0 in the last of the third. Severino began today batting .203 with a .581 OPS and just one homer over his last 21 games. But an 0-1 fastball from Austin Pruitt found the middle of the plate and Severino hit homer No. 11 to left-center. It's the third grand slam by the Orioles for the season. Jonathan Villar hit one May 6 versus Boston and Dwight Smith Jr. got one on May 31 against San Francisco.

This would prove to be enough runs tonight for Means, although he would get more. Means went seven innings, allowing five hits and one run on Michael Brosseau's homer in the fifth. He walked none and fanned seven to improve to 9-9 with a 3.75 ERA. Means threw 100 pitches, 70 for strikes.

Before this outing, Means had been 1-5 with a 7.48 ERA in six second-half starts, allowing an opponent OPS of .885. And the Orioles were 1-5 in those games, losing four in a row.

Tonight he gave the Orioles just their 11th outing of the year of seven innings or more. It was the third time for Means.

The O's added to what was at that point a 5-0 lead with back-to-back homers with two outs in the last of the fourth. Hanser Alberto hit No. 10 on a 2-1 changeup. Jonathan Villar hit No. 19 and it went 416 feet to right-center for a 7-0 advantage. It was the fourth instance of back-to-back homers by the O's on the season.

Villar, who ranks third in the American League with 28 steals, now needs just one more home run to become the sixth Oriole with 20 or more homers and steals in the same season. That has been previously done by Paul Blair, Don Baylor, Reggie Jackson, Brady Anderson (three times) and Manny Machado.

The Orioles (42-88) are 3-3 on this homestand, which ends tomorrow. The Rays (76-55) had won 11 of their last 12 road games and had won four in a row over the Orioles.

The Orioles could split this four-game series on Sunday afternoon with a win. Right-hander Dylan Bundy (5-13, 5.03) will make his 25th start.