The Rays beat the Orioles 6-2, with Fairbanks hitting Basallo; both teams denied intent, and Basallo was unharmed.

The Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles conclude their three-game series on Thursday, both eliminated from playoff contention and split in the first two games. The Rays won Wednesday’s game 6-2, but tension arose when reliever Pete Fairbanks hit Orioles prospect Samuel Basallo with a pitch, prompting Fairbanks to blow a kiss toward the dugout—denied as intentional by both Fairbanks and Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino, who called it an accident. Basallo, 0-for-3 and batting .176, was evaluated but unharmed. Drew Rasmussen (10-5, 2.80 ERA) starts for the Rays, aiming to match his career-high wins, against Cade Povich (3-8, 5.06 ERA), making his first career start against Tampa Bay. The Orioles play their home finale before facing the Yankees, while the Rays travel to Toronto.