Brian Matusz clearly thought he just struck out Kelly Shoppach. He gave an extra look into home plate umpire Brian Knight and then took a couple of steps off the rubber. It was as if Matusz was convinced that if he waited a little longer, glared a little harder, Knight would raise his left fist, pull back his right arm and send Shoppach back to the dugout.

Knight didn't and one pitch later, the Orioles' three-run lead was gone, and their rookie left-hander was well on his way to another early exit. Shoppach's grand slam capped a five-run fourth-inning for the Tampa Bay Rays, who pulled away from the Orioles to capture a 7-3 victory in front of an announced 36,189 at Tropicana Field.

Adam Jones had given the Orioles a 3-0 lead with a three-run homer in the third, but Rays' pitching - first starter Andy Sonnanstine and then relievers Lance Cormier, Joaquin Benoit and Randy Choate - retired 19 straight batters before Matt Wieters' one-out double in the ninth. They managed just four hits for the game.

The Rays, meanwhile, had 15 hits, obviously none bigger than Shoppach's blast. Shoppach, a backup catcher, had just one home run on the season and only one extra-base hit since June 30 when he sent Matusz's 2-2 90 mile an hour letter-high fastball into the left-field seats. It was Tampa Bay's first home run by a right-handed hitter since Aug. 5, and that was also a grand slam off the bat of pinch hitter Jason Bartlett.

Shoppach added another homer in the eighth, a solo shot off Alfredo Simon.

The Rays, who trailed 3-0 before the bottom of the fourth and had been shut out by the Orioles for 12 straight innings, connected for six hits and a walk in the decisive fifth inning off Matusz. The Oriole starter got out of the fourth only when Jones threw out B.J. Upton trying to score on Carl Crawford's flyout to center field. However, he didn't come out for the fifth having given up five earned runs on nine hits and two walks over four innings.

He's now 4-12, tied with teammate Kevin Millwood for the most losses in the American League, and he will carry a 5.28 ERA into his next start. The poor start interrupted not only a great run by the Orioles' rotation – they had gotten 10 quality starts in 11 games since manager Buck Showalter took over – but the momentum that Matusz had built in his previous two outings. He had allowed just two runs in 12 innings over his previous two starts after a stretch where he surrendered 18 earned runs, 19 hits and 13 walks in four starts spanning just 13 innings.

The Orioles (41-76) will now turn to another rookie Jake Arrieta, who will start Sunday's series and road trip finale. With a victory, the Orioles will have their first winning road trip since Aug. 11-17, 2008 when they took four of seven games against the Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers. They could also claim their fourth consecutive series win since Aug. 3-15, 2004 when they took series against the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels and Toronto Blue Jays.

They also fell to 9-3 under Showalter, whose team appeared to be in good position to get a second consecutive victory against the Rays. A night after scoring three first-inning runs off James Shields en route to a 5-0 victory, the Orioles had men on second and third with no outs in the first when Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis executed a successful double steal.

Andy Sonnanstine, who was moved from the bullpen to the rotation with injuries to Wade Davis and Jeff Niemann, struck out Ty Wigginton for the first out. He then walked the hot-hitting Luke Scott to load the bases. However, Jones fouled out to first baseman Ben Zobrist and Felix Pie grounded out, ending the threat.

The Orioles had runners on the corners in the second and the soft-tossing Sonnanstine got Markakis to pop out. But they finally got to the Rays' starter in the third. Wigginton led off with a single and Scott walked.

Jones then hammered a 1-1 pitch off the foul pole in left field for a three-run homer. It was Jones' 17th homer of the season. It was also his third homer and sixth hit in 10 career at-bats against Sonnanstine. But that was the Orioles' last and only hurrah on this day.

jeff.zrebiec@baltsun.com