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Major League Baseball
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Tampa Bay 5, Baltimore 3
When: 7:10 PM ET, Monday, October 1, 2012
Where: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Temperature: Indoors
Umpires: Home - Angel Hernandez, 1B - Ed Hickox, 2B - Ted Barrett, 3B - Mark Carlson
Attendance: 13666

Rays 5, Orioles 3: Alex Cobb allowed one run on two hits in seven innings and Tampa Bay snapped visiting Baltimore's four-game winning streak, but was eliminated from postseason contention when Oakland won later Monday.

Ben Zobrist homered and Chris Gimenez capped a three-run seventh inning with a two-run double as the Rays improved to 11-1 in their last 12. Oakland clinched at least a wild card berth with a 4-3 victory over Texas, one day after the Orioles wrapped up a playoff berth.

Cobb (11-9) struck out seven to snap Tampa Bay's five-game losing streak at the hands of the Orioles and dropped Baltimore one game behind the New York Yankees in the American League East title chase. Fernando Rodney escaped a two-on, no-out jam in the ninth for his 47th save.

Orioles left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (12-11) cruised into the seventh inning having allowed only Zobrist's homer, but an error by rookie third baseman Manny Machado opened the door for the Rays' three-run uprising and a 4-1 lead.

Chris Davis homered for the fifth straight game - a two-run shot in the ninth that extended his hitting streak to 10 games - and Matt Wieters clubbed his career-high 23rd homer for Baltimore, which has already clinched a playoff spot.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Orioles RF Nick Markakis will have to wait at least another week to have the pins removed from his broken left thumb, meaning he will be sidelined for at least three more weeks. ... Zobrist reached 20 homers for the third time in four seasons and improved to 7-for-15 lifetime against Chen. ... Orioles RHP Jason Hammel (knee) threw a five-inning simulated game Monday and - barring a setback - could be available to pitch in the AL Division Series by Saturday.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Baltimore   Tampa Bay
Wei-Yin Chen Player Alex Cobb
Loss W/L Win
6.2 IP 7.0
4 Strikeouts 7
6 Hits 2
1.35 ERA 1.29
Hitting
Baltimore   Tampa Bay
Matt WietersPlayer Chris Gimenez
2 Hits 2
1 RBI 2
1 HR 0
5 TB 3
.500 Avg .667
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Baltimore 6 2 12 .182 12 10 3 2 1 1
Tampa Bay 7 1 12 .233 11 4 5 3 0 1