Young hits two home runs, O's lose 9-5

Delmon Young was due.

Young hit his first home run today in the bottom of the first inning to give the Orioles a 1-0 lead. Young crushed it, the ball landing in the Rays bullpen for his first homer of the regular season since Aug. 29 versus the Twins.

Young is 3-for-3 with two home runs lifetime against Rays starter Jake Odorizzi, who offered up an 85 mph cutter on the first pitch of the at-bat.

Odorizzi had allowed two home runs in 32 2/3 innings before today.

Chris Davis followed with a double on an 84 mph cutter, but Steve Pearce struck out. Davis is 7-for-17 with two doubles, four home runs and seven RBIs in his last six games.

Chris Tillman gave up the lead in the top of the second. Logan Forsythe doubled, Nick Franklin walked with two outs, and both runners scored on No. 9 hitter Bobby Wilson's bloop single into right field and Young's throwing error. One of the two runs was unearned and Tillman's pitch count rose to 41 in two innings.

Nolan Reimold isn't in Triple-A Norfolk's lineup today, but he hasn't been promoted. I'm told it's just a day off, which frequently comes on a Sunday.

Adam Jones remains day-to-day with a mild sprain of his left ankle. An MRI yesterday didn't reveal anything more serious.

"Nothing structurally, in pretty good shape there," said manager Buck Showalter. "Just kind of verified, what Richie (Bancells) and the docs (thought). Start treating it.

"Swelling has gone down. Not going to get into his availability today for competitive reasons, but I think he's close."

Showalter said Jones could serve as the designated hitter in Houston before returning to center field, though it's not his first choice.

"I haven't asked that," Showalter said. "I haven't had the conversation because with Adam you kind of have to that take out of play. If he's not banging on the door early in the morning you know there's something he's still dealing with there."

Reimold, by the way, has hit safely in eight of his last 10 games, batting .516 (16-for-31) with four doubles. He's raised his average from .238 to .292 during a stretch that includes five multi-hit games.

Reimold's .516 average since May 22 ranks fourth in minor league baseball.

Reimold's contract includes a July 12 opt-out date.

The Orioles began today ranked seventh in the majors and fourth in the American League with a .275 average in day games. Their 12-7 record also ranked seventh in the majors and fourth in the league.

Jones ranks fifth in the majors and fourth in the league with a .426 (29-for-68) average in day games.

Update: Young has two home runs on two pitches from Odorizzi, and we're tied after three innings.

Young is now 4-for-4 with three homers lifetime against Odorizzi.

Today marks Young's first multi-homer game since Aug. 3, 2011 while playing for the Twins. Davis and Machado have the other multi-homer games for the Orioles this season.

Update II: Tillman gave up a three-run homer to Steven Souza Jr. with two outs in the fifth to give the Rays a 6-2 lead. Souza has homered in all three games of the series.

Tillman was done after Asdrubal Cabrera singled. He allowed six runs (five earned) and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings, with three walks, seven strikeouts and two home runs. He threw 93 pitches, 58 for strikes, and his ERA rose to 5.94 in 53 innings.

In his last five starts against the American League East, Tillman has allowed 23 earned runs in 28 1/3 innings.

Tillman struck out four batters in a row before walking Evan Longoria with two outs in the fifth. David DeJesus reached on an infield hit and Logan Forsythe's bloop single broke a 2-2 tie. Souza ran the count full and launched a ball into the Rays' bullpen.

Update III: Chaz Roe struck out four of the five batters he faced, but DeJesus homered on the first pitch from Oliver Drake in the seventh to give Tampa Bay a 7-2 lead.

Update IV: Manny Machado hit a two-run homer with no outs in the seventh, his first since May 11, and the Orioles trail 7-4.

Odorizzi gave up three home runs after allowing two before today.

Update V: Drake gave up another run in the eighth on Longoria's sacrifice fly after a double and single. Rays 8, Orioles 4.

Update VI: Game over. The Orioles lose to the Rays 9-5 before 36,945 and drop the series after taking the first game.

Brandon Guyer had an RBI single off Brian Matusz in the ninth and Machado hit his second home run of the day in the bottom half to complete the scoring. Machado has four career multi-homer games and two this season, the other coming April 23 in Toronto.

The Orioles are 23-26 and continue to spin their wheels.

Tillman has lost a career-high six decisions in a row.