Wrapping up a 4-3 win

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles won't say that the eighth inning tonight was the most important of the season. They turned a 3-0 deficit into a 4-3 lead and won for the seventh time in nine games, trimming their deficit for the second wild card to 4 1/2 games. Every loss is devastating as they try to make up ground.

Most important inning of the season? They're not going to label it. They'll just enjoy it and move on to Friday night's game.

"I wouldn't say that," said Adam Jones, who punched a two-run single into right field with two outs on the first pitch he saw from Rays reliever Alex Colome to move the Orioles ahead. "I would just say we played until 27 outs instead of 21. Until that 27th out is made, we're going to play hard. That's just how the makeup of this team is."

The most important inning?

"It's too cliché-ish," said manager Buck Showalter. "I can go back to 30 other ones. It felt like a W all the way, right?"

Not for the first seven innings, when Rays left-hander Matt Moore shut out the Orioles on two hits and struck out nine without a walk. Colome replaced him in the eighth.

Moore came out and the wheels came off.

Jones capped the rally with his two-run single after Colome's wild pitch let two runners move up. The Rays chose to walk Chris Davis with first base open, a move that Jones said he didn't anticipate right away.

"No. CD was hitting," Jones said. "Until the guy stood up and signaled that they were going to intentionally walk him. OK, cool."

What was running through the mind of Jones, who's now 4-for-9 with 10 RBIs in 11 plate appearances this season with the bases full?

"Go up to the plate and get yourself a pitch to hit," he said. "Somebody's going to succeed, one of the two. Good thing it was me today."

Jones also made a diving catch in shallow right-center field to rob Kevin Kiermaier in the fourth and prevent two runs from scoring, and he ran down John Jaso's drive on the warning track in right-center to end the game.

"The play he made coming in on a ball, because he plays shallower than most people play, he can make that play and he's fearless going back," Showalter said, adding that first base coach Wayne Kirby positioned Jones toward right-center with two outs in the ninth and Jaso at the plate.

Starter Chris Tillman described Jones' catch in the fourth as "huge, huge."

"Runners on base, he made a great play," said Tillman, who was charged with three runs in 5 2/3 innings, the last two scoring on infield hits with two outs in the sixth.

"I think he made two or three great plays tonight. I think those ones where he goes back, people don't really notice that. He's one of the best in the game at that. That's why."

Jaso homered off Tillman in the third, the ball getting stuck in the C ring in right field.

"To be honest with you, I didn't even see what happened," Tillman said. "I don't think Dariel (Alvarez) did, either. I was a little confused. This ballpark plays like that. It's weird, really weird."

Darren O'Day closed out the win for his third save, as Showalter chose to rest Zach Britton. Both relievers worked in three straight games before yesterday. Showalter felt that O'Day was ready tonight and he didn't want to put Britton in "harm's way."

"Darren gave us something at a time of need against three left-handed hitters. That's pretty impressive for a guy that throws down under," Showalter said.

"Zach needed another day. As simple as that. We're very proud of the way we've been able to keep our bullpen healthy through our struggles with some of our starting (woes) now and then. Just felt like, we talked a lot and we felt like he needed another day. Us scoring four runs was not going to change that even though there is a temptation there. We'll see what tomorrow brings."

So we can agree that the win was especially important.

"Obviously, mathematically it is," Showalter said. "Opportunities are the games you play - two, three hours, four hours. That's your opportunity and you don't have 100 more. You have X number left. Our guys are aware of what each game means, so our momentum will be how well (Tyler) Wilson pitches tomorrow. And (Drew) Smyly is pitching as well anybody in baseball right now."

Jones said the Orioles aren't scoreboard watching.

"It's not about all the other games anymore," he said. "If we lose, we're not going to get there. If we win, then that's all we can do. All we can do is win. And if we win and other teams win or lose, that's up to them. But we've got to take care of our own business. You can't clean everybody else's house when your house is dirty."

Here's more from the clubhouse:

Showalter on whether the team received a lift after Moore left:
"No, their bullpen's pretty good. I said to our guys before the series that when you've got a guy that's been as good as (Moore) has in his career and he's a year or two removed from Tommy John, at some point the command and the feel and everything is going to start coming back. So tonight was a good example. That should really make the Rays organization and their fans feel good about a reminder of what he is capable of and that doesn't bode well for us in the future."

Showalter on Tillman:
"Tilly was good. He gives up the deflection off him and Brian (Matusz) gave up the swinging bunt. That was really deflating. A lot of guys would have pulled the dirt in around them at that point, but our guys didn't. They came right back at them."

Tillman on his outing:
"I thought it was better, pretty good for the most part. From the get-go, I had command of the fastball, both sides. A couple of misses, but my offspeed was there for me, too, and I was able to make some pretty good pitches throughout. It was good, better."

Tillman on quirky plays that let runs score:
"I feel like it's been that way for a while now. I honestly do. That's baseball. They hit some balls hard that we made some good plays on, and also some ones that weren't hit so hard but didn't go your way. That's the story of this game. The game always unfolds that way. They hit some balls hard, make a good play. Balls hit not so hard, unfortunately stuff happens."

Tillman on the comeback:
"It was big. It was a really good inning for our offense. I was inside watching, watching from inside, doing some work. I was there in spirits. It was fun to watch."

O'Day on rallying after Moore left the game:
"Moore was pitching well, he had us shut down pretty good. To come back get a W on the board was big. Every game is big. Got to win them all now."

O'Day on being the closer:
"I had an idea, thought Zach might have another day off. You never now what Buck is going to do. I thought I might pitch the ninth. I stretched a half-inning later, if that's relevant."

O'Day on the eighth inning:
"Those were great at-bats, you know? To string together a bunch of runs like that. It's not easy to score four runs off a reliever. Little momentum. We know we're a good team. Somebody made a comment, when we play them we should start the game in the sixth inning because the last three innings are always so exciting. It was fun to watch for sure."

O'Day on the team's spirits:
"Spirits are great. We're competitive guys, we love to win. That's what we're here for. To be able to do that, come from behind, that was big."

O'Day on Jones' catches:
"He gets to a lot of balls other guys wouldn't get to. He takes away a lot of singles. The way pitchers here feel, if a guy hits a ball to the wall he deserves to get a hit. Adam plays shallow, takes away a lot of singles and he's comfortable going back on a ball, as he showed you tonight. He covers a lot of field, and it's a great comfort to know when he's out there."