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The Tampa Bay Rays keep winning.The Baltimore Orioles keep losing.After Blake Snell won his 18th of the season in Friday night’s 14-2 rout of the Orioles Friday night http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-justin-verlander-jersey , Kevin Cash sends “opener” Diego Castillo to the mound in Saturday night’s second game of the three-game series at Tropicana Field.Article continues below ...The Rays, long shots in the American League wild-card chase, improved to 76-64, 23-11 since the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.The Rays got a grand slam from Ji-Man Choi and the first major league home run from Nick Ciuffo to blast the Birds on Friday night.Snell, 18-5 (tied for the major league lead in wins) with a 2.06 ERA, struck out nine in 5 1/3 innings. But a two-run homer by Joey Rickard in the sixth inning ended the left-hander’s streak of consecutive home starts allowing one or zero runs at 14, dating to last season.“Blake was really good again,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Obviously, the runs are great to have, but I think Blake sets the tone, obviously, with the way that he’s been throwing the ball here. I was excited to have him open up this series and he definitely did his part.”Asked about Snell pitching like an ace, Cash said, “He’s performed like one this year. It’s tough to argue that he hasn’t. It’s pretty remarkable the turnaround. We talk about it a lot, and I guess we’ll continue to talk about it. I guess when the day comes when we’re not talking about it, then it becomes a normal fifth day for him.“If that’s the case Carlos Lee Jersey , then he becomes a really special pitcher.”The Rays hit four home runs. Tampa Bay pitchers struck out 15 and walked none in the game as the Orioles reached 100 losses for the first time since going 54-107 in 1988 and third time since moving from St. Louis after the 1953 season.Ryan Yarbrough, a 13-game winner as both a starter and reliever, will handle the bulk of the innings Saturday. The Orioles will start rookie right-hander David Hess, although Hess almost didn’t make it.Hess, who has three wins in 12 decisions this season, has two of them against the Rays, who are just 9-8 against the 41-100 Orioles. Hess was hit in the eye with a football before Friday night’s game and had to visit an ophthalmologist before getting word he’s fine.“Going out there and playing around, that’s just a part of being an athlete,” said Hess, who was seen later in the dugout wearing an LSU football helmet. “We want to go out and maybe toss around a football or a Frisbee or whatever. This is one of those times when a freak accident happens, so I guess next time I’ve got to move my head or catch the ball.”He is 2-0 with a 2.79 ERA in four games (three starts) against the Rays. He is 1-9 with a 6.03 ERA against everyone else.In three starts against the Rays, he has worked 18 1/3 innings, yielding six runs. His first two big league wins came May 12 and 25, both against Tampa Bay.He also defeated the Rays on Aug. 9, his only victory in his last 12 starts, with relief appearances mixed in. The current Tampa Bay roster is a combined 11-for-46 (.239) against Hess. Joey Wendle is 4-for-5 (.800) and Matt Duffy 4-for-9 (.444) http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authentic-justin-verlander-jersey , and C.J. Cron is 1-for-9 (.111) and Mallex Smith 1-for-6 (.167). It’s September, so it’s time for Terrance Gore.The 5-foot-7 speedster has resurfaced with the Chicago Cubs, who purchased his contract from Triple-A Iowa when rosters expanded Saturday. Like the Royals previously, the Cubs will have a chance to turn Gore loose on the bases. The 27-year-old outfielder has played in 50 games in his major league career. He has 11 at-bats, zero hits, 14 runs and 21 stolen bases.Gore made his big league debut with Kansas City in 2014 and had a handful of appearances for the Royals over the past four years. He was traded to the Cubs last month, and they brought him up from the minors when rosters expanded. Of Gore’s 50 big league games in the regular season, 43 have come after the start of September. When rosters expand, there’s more room for a player like Gore, who is about as one-dimensional as they come but can clearly help as a pinch runner.The roster squeeze is tighter in the playoffs, but the Royals kept Gore for their postseason runs in 2014 and 2015. The Cubs have the best record in the National League at the moment, but they can use Gore’s skill set. They’re tied for 12th in the NL with 56 stolen bases. They’ve also been caught stealing 35 times, the most of any team in the league.Gore is a slightly less extreme version of Herb Washington, Oakland’s baserunning specialist from 1974-75. Washington had 31 steals in his major league career without a single plate appearance. He wasn’t as efficient as Gore, however. Washington was caught stealing 17 times. That’s only happed four times to Gore.Other developments from around the majors:TRIPLE THREAT?A torrid second half has J.D. Martinez making a bit of a Triple Crown bid in the American League. The Boston slugger leads the league with 115 RBIs and is second with 39 homers, one behind Oakland’s Khris Davis. Martinez is also hitting .337 Jose Altuve Jersey , just three points behind teammate Mookie Betts, the league leader.Martinez has never batted higher than .315 in a season, but he’s hitting .359 since the All-Star break, and that has put him in the mix for what would be a surprising batting title. The last seven batting titles in the AL have gone to either Jose Altuve or Miguel Cabrera. Altuve is still a threat this year at .321.When Cabrera won the Triple Crown in 2012, he took MVP honors in a hotly debated race against Mike Trout. Martinez may face an uphill climb for that award, since he has played only 48 games in the field this year.HIGHLIGHTSThe Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Rockies are in a tight race atop the NL West, meaning their head-to-head matchups are crucial. Los Angeles just took three of four from Arizona, with each win by the same score of 3-2. Matt Kemp delivered the decisive hit in each of the final two games — an eighth-inning homer Saturday and a two-run double in the ninth Sunday. Los Angeles also won in its last at-bat Friday, on an eighth-inning homer by Justin Turner.The first-place Dodgers lead Colorado by a half-game and Arizona by one.LINE OF THE WEEKMilwaukee’s Christian Yelich went 6 for 6 and hit for the cycle Wednesday night in a 13-12, 10-inning victory over Cincinnati. Then over the weekend, he came up with a nice encore, hitting his first career grand slam in Sunday’s 9-4 win over Washington.