Pro Sports

Archer gets 1st win since August as Rays top Orioles 4-3

Posted September 30, 2017 7:00 am

By DICK SCANLON

Tampa Bay Rays' Chris Archer pitches to the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) The Associated Press

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Even after winning his final start of the year, Chris Archer made it clear he had much more in mind.

Archer won for the first time since Aug. 22 and Brad Miller hit a three-run homer to lead the Tampa Bay Rays over the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 Saturday night on the next-to-last day of the season.

"Good note or bad note? We had a losing season, so it's really not that good of a note," Archer said.

The right-hander made his 34th start to give him 67 over the past two years - most of any pitcher in the majors.

"I feel like in the majority of my starts I gave my team a chance to win," he said. "I didn't have a ton of wins but I gave my team a chance, and when I'm training in the offseason that's what I'm thinking about."

Archer (10-12) pitched five shutout innings before two Rays relievers helped stretch Baltimore's scoreless streak to 23 innings. Pedro Alvarez halted the drought with a two-run single off Tommy Hunter in the eighth.

Baltimore manager Buck Showalter called Archer "one of the best pitchers in the league. We didn't do a whole lot off him, create many opportunities."

Archer, who had lost five straight starts, struck out six and allowed only two hits. He finished the season with 249 strikeouts, three short of his own club record set two years ago.

He totaled 201 innings, exceeding 200 for the third straight season.

"He prides himself on getting out there and staying out there," Rays manager Kevin Cash said.

Alex Colome pitched the ninth for his major league-leading 47th save in 53 tries. Baltimore put runners at the corners with no outs but managed only Anthony Santander's sacrifice fly.

Miller's ninth home run of the season came off starter Miguel Castro in the fourth after hits by Corey Dickerson and Adeiny Hechavarria.

"I'm really just trying to grind it out," said Miller, who needed two hits to raise his batting average to .201. "Things haven't really gone how I planned to go this year, but that's not going to take away from my attitude.

"I want to be able to look back and say I was able to overcome that."

Making his first major league start after 75 relief appearances, Castro (3-3) gave up three runs and six hits in 3 1/3 innings.

Hechavarria had three of Tampa Bay's 10 hits.

Trey Mancini's 17-game hitting streak, a Baltimore rookie record, ended but he scored a run after drawing a walk.

The loss was the fourth straight for the Orioles, who have dropped 18 of their last 22 games.

THE SAVE KING

Colome, who earned his first save in a week, will be the first Rays reliever to lead the majors in saves. Brad Boxberger (2015) and Rafael Soriano (2010) led the American League. With a save on Sunday, Colome can tie Fernando Rodney's 2012 team record for one season.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Orioles: INF Tim Beckham has been shut down due to a hamstring strain. ... OF Adam Jones (leg soreness) was available only in an emergency.

Rays: Cash said he will give his regulars the option of whether to play in Sunday's season finale.

UP NEXT

LHP Blake Snell (4-7) will pitch the season finale for the Rays against RHP Kevin Gausman (11-11). Snell has a chance for a strong finish after starting the season 0-4 and spending six weeks in the minors.

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A previous version of this story was corrected with the date of Archer's last win.

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More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Chris Archer leaps over Tampa Bay Times photographer Will Vragovic as he takes the field before a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) The Associated Press

Tampa Bay Rays' Brad Miller watches his three-run home run off Baltimore Orioles pitcher Miguel Castro during the fourth inning of a baseball game Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Rays' Corey Dickerson and Adeiny Hechavarria also scored. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) The Associated Press

Tampa Bay Rays' Corey Dickerson, right, gets tagged out by Baltimore Orioles catcher Chance Sisco while trying to score on a fielder's choice by Brad Miller during the second inning of a baseball game Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) The Associated Press

Baltimore Orioles pitcher Miguel Castro goes into his windup against the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) The Associated Press

Baltimore Orioles pitcher Miguel Castro delivers to the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) The Associated Press

Tampa Bay Rays' Kevin Kiermaier (39) steals second base as Baltimore Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy (2) fields the throw from catcher Chance Sisco during the seventh inning of a baseball game Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) The Associated Press

Tampa Bay Rays' Brad Miller, right, celebrates with Corey Dickerson after Miller hit a three-run home run off Baltimore Orioles pitcher Miguel Castro during the fourth inning of a baseball game Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) The Associated Press

Baltimore Orioles' J.J. Hardy (2) scores in front of Tampa Bay Rays catcher Wilson Ramos on a sacrifice fly by Anthony Santander during the ninth inning of a baseball game Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) The Associated Press

Tampa Bay Rays' Mallex Smith, left, and Kevin Kiermaier celebrate after the Rays defeated the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 during a baseball game Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) The Associated Press

Baltimore Orioles, from left, Manny Machado, J.J. Hardy, Jonathan Schoop, and Chris Davis, stand together during a pitching change in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) The Associated Press

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