Rays 3, Orioles 2: Yunel Escobar sprinted home to score the winning run on a passed ball by Nick Hundley in the ninth inning as Tampa Bay defeated visiting Baltimore for the second straight day.

Escobar reached on an error to start the ninth, moved up on a bunt and a sacrifice fly and scored when Hundley could not handle Andrew Miller’s second pitch. Wil Myers and Evan Longoria each knocked in a run for the Rays while Brad Boxberger (5-1) struck out two in a perfect ninth to gain the win.

Chris Davis belted a solo homer among two hits, Nelson Cruz had an RBI single and Hundley had two hits for the Orioles, who lead the New York Yankees by 8 1/2 games in the American League East. Brad Brach (5-1) gave up an unearned run and one walk in one inning of work to suffer the loss.

Tampa Bay’s Drew Smyly gave up one run over six innings and Kevin Gausman of Baltimore allowed two runs in seven frames, but neither starter was involved in the decision. Cruz made sure of that by plating pinch runner Quintin Berry with one-out single in the eighth to tie the game at 2-2.

Davis led off the second by lining the first pitch he saw from Smyly into the right-field seats for his 26th homer to open the scoring. The Rays responded in the third with three hits, a walk and two runs as Longoria lifted a sacrifice fly and Myers lined a two-out RBI single off the glove of center fielder Adam Jones for a 2-1 lead.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Smyly, who struck out eight Saturday, has given up only nine runs in seven starts since being acquired from Detroit in the deal for David Price. … Baltimore SS J.J. Hardy, who been struggling with back spasms, got the day off while Orioles 1B Steve Pearce (abdominal strain) returned to the lineup after missing seven games and went 0-for-2 with two walks. … Tampa Bay INF-OF Ben Zobrist walked four times, including an intentional pass in the ninth, for the first time in his career.