By NOAH TRISTER

BALTIMORE — Dylan Beavers homered on the first pitch of the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Baltimore Orioles a 6-5 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in their home finale Thursday.

The Orioles — who would have been assured of a last-place finish in the AL East with a loss — rallied from a 5-2, eighth-inning deficit and guaranteed the Rays consecutive losing seasons for first time since four straight from 2014-17. Coby Mayo tied it with a two-run homer in the eighth.

Keegan Akin (5-4) worked the ninth. Kevin Kelly (2-5) allowed the homers to Mayo and Beavers, each on the first pitch of the at-bat.

Jesse Scholtens struck out nine in 5 1/3 innings of relief for the Rays. His final pitch was a swinging third strike by Colton Cowser in the eighth, but the ball got away

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