Orioles beat Rays 7-1 behind Gausman, Machado

Baltimore Orioles' Manny Machado, right, greets teammates Ruben Tejada, left, and Seth Smith at home plate after batting them in on a three-run home run in the third inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays in Baltimore, Sunday, July 2, 2017. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) Baltimore Orioles' Manny Machado, right, greets teammates Ruben Tejada, left, and Seth Smith at home plate after batting them in on a three-run home run in the third inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays in Baltimore, Sunday, July 2, 2017. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

By Associated Press July 2, 2017 1 min read

BALTIMORE (AP) – Manny Machado hit a three-run homer, Kevin Gausman pitched seven innings of two-hit ball and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-1 Sunday to avert a three-game sweep.

Mark Trumbo also homered and Seth Smith had two RBIs for the Orioles, playing their final home game until July 14.

Gausman (5-7) struck out nine and walked two in the finest of his 18 starts this season. The right-hander allowed only one runner past first base in lowering his ERA from 6.07 to 5.61.

It was Gausman’s second straight scoreless outing; he blanked Toronto over 5 1/3 innings on Tuesday.

Jesus Sucre ended Baltimore’s shutout bid with an eighth-inning homer off Mychal Givens.