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BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Orioles had just completed a spirited comeback, and all that remained was for unfailing closer Zach Britton to seal the victory.It did not come easy.Tampa Bays Mike Mahtook was cut down at the plate trying to score from first base with two outs, and Baltimore topped the Rays 5-4 Friday night to stay in the middle of the AL playoff picture.It was the most exciting game that Ive played this year, rookie Hyun Soo Kim said, and I expect that theres more coming. So Ill enjoy every bit of it.The Orioles remained two games behind first-place Boston in the AL East and tied with Toronto for the two AL wild-card spots.J.J. Hardy and Michael Bourn came through with RBI in the eighth inning, and Pedro Alvarez and Chris Davis homered to help Baltimore rally from an early 4-0 deficit.It was 4-3 before the Orioles took the lead in the eighth against wild reliever Brad Boxberger (4-2).Two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases for Hardy, who tied it with an infield single. Bourn followed with a fly ball to left field, and pinch-runner Nolan Reimold easily scored as the throw was cut off.Brad Brach (9-3) worked the eighth and Britton escaped with his 44th save in 44 tries.With two outs in the ninth, Mahtook singled off the second base bag. Alexei Ramirez followed with a liner to left, and Mahtook wheeled toward home. The relay from Bourn to third baseman Manny Machado to catcher Matt Wieters easily beat him there.I knew it was going to be close, just based on the way Alexi hit the ball, Mahtook said. Left-field line, it wasnt like he had super long way to run for it. I was on the move, he made a good play, and they were able to get me.Evan Longoria hit his career-high 34th homer and Richie Shaffer also connected for the last-place Rays.Tampa Bay starter Chris Archer allowed three runs in 6 1/3 innings and struck out four to increase his AL-leading total to 221. The 18-game loser also avoided setting a franchise record for losses in a season.Archer was replaced after giving up successive one-out singles in the seventh. Danny Farquhar hit Adam Jones with a pitch to load the bases for Hyun Soo Kim, who hit a deep liner to center. Kevin Kiermaier leaped with his back to the 7-foot wall, grasped the ball and brought it back onto the field before it popped from his glove.Thats a grand slam with any other center fielder, Rays manager Kevin Cash said.Kim was limited to an RBI single, and Farquhar struck out Machado and Davis.But Baltimore would not be denied in the eighth.Longoria homered off Ubaldo Jimenez with a man on in the first inning and Shaffer went deep in the second for a 4-0 lead.Jimenez settled down after that. The right-hander gave up four runs over seven innings, striking out eight.Alvarez hit his 21st home run in the second and Davis delivered No. 38 in the fourth. Davis also struck out twice and has 201 for the year.Baltimores Mark Trumbo, the major league home run leader with 42, was sidelined with back spasms. It was only the second game hes missed this season.OUT IN LEFT FIELDBrad Miller usually plays shortstop or first base for the Rays. In an effort to gauge Millers versatility and add flexibility to the roster, Rays manager Kevin Cash started him in left field.It didnt take long for Miller to get noticed: The second Baltimore batter of the game hit a pop to left that glanced off Millers glove for an error.The glove was borrowed from Farquhar.TRAINERS ROOMRays: 1B Nick Franklin, who strained his hamstring on Thursday, was held from the game. Cash listed him day-to-day.Orioles: RHP Darren ODay (rotator cuff strain) threw 26 pitches in a simulated game and could be activated Sunday or Monday. ... OF Joey Rickard (thumb) took a couple of practice swings, and it did not go well, manager Buck Showalter said. Rickard has been on the DL since July 21.UP NEXTRays: Matt Adriese (7-7, 4.46 ERA) starts Saturday night, coming off his first career win against the Yankees on Sunday. The right-hander is 0-3 with a 9.24 ERA lifetime vs. Baltimore.Orioles: Chris Tillman (16-5, 3.68) makes his second start since being activated from the DL with right shoulder bursitis. He beat Detroit on Sunday. Black Ultra Boost Discount . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. Womens Ultra Boost Sale . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. http://www.cheapultrabooststore.com/ .2 billion agreement with Rogers Communications for the leagues broadcast and multimedia rights. Wholesale Ultra Boost . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. Womens Ultra Boost . Jeff Green scored 13 points and Kris Humphries 12 for the Celtics, who nearly blew an 18-point, second-half lead. Sullingers 20-20 was the first by a Celtics player since Kevin Garnetts first game in Boston in 2007. Garnett was dealt -- along with Paul Pierce -- to Brooklyn during the off-season. NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A former Vanderbilt football player was sentenced Friday to 15 years in prison after he was convicted of taking part in the gang rape of an unconscious female student.Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Monte Watkins handed down the sentence for Cory Batey after the victim in the case said her life has been shattered as a result of the rape.The woman was a neuroscience and economics major when she was assaulted in a dorm on the Nashville campus in June of 2013. In all, four former football players were charged. The Associated Press does not generally identify victims of sexual assault.The players used their cellphones to take pictures of the rape. One also videoed it and sent the footage to friends as it was happening.The victim said she learned of what happened to her when detectives showed her the graphic images retrieved from the phones.During her victim impact statement, she described the horror she felt seeing the images of herself.Ive seen with my own eyes what I was when Mr. Batey was done with me: a piece of trash, face down in a hallway, covered in his urine and palm prints, a photograph he took himself, the woman said. There are no words to describe the horror of the images from that night and how it feels to watch yourself be dehumanized.She wept throughout much of her statement as she described how her life and her belief in the fundamental goodness of people were both upended with the discovery of what happened to her.The victim has had to testify at multiple trials, and Bateys high-profile status and the international attention the case received left her in constant fear of being known as the victim. As a result, she said she feels the attack on her continues throughout every new court proceeding.Everything the defendant has done in this case and the media circus surrounding it have been a continuous disruption, repeatedly dragging me back every single step I try to take forward, she said. I can only feel that the defendant has intentionally wanted this to be as tortuous for me as possible.The sentencing comes amid widespreadd furor over a Stanford University swimmer who was sentenced to six months in jail for a similar crime: sexually assaulting an unconscious woman on a college campus.ddddddddddddn Tennessee, the judge did not have the discretion to give Batey a lighter sentence. Batey was convicted in April of aggravated rape, which carries a sentence of 15 to 25 years.Prosecutors asked for the maximum, saying the crime was particularly egregious and that the punishment would send a message about campus rapes.Prosecutors have said Batey urinated on the woman and made a racial statement at the end of the attack. Batey is African-American and the woman is white. One of the four former players is also white. They did not say what the statement was.The victims said Batey violated her sexually in multiple ways, but it didnt end there.Mr. Batey continued to abuse and degrade me, urinating on my face while uttering horrific racial hate speech that suggested I deserved what he was doing to me because of the color of my skin.Batey, a 22-year-old who grew up in Nashville, apologized to the victim and to his family and mother. He also apologized to Vanderbilt University. He testified at one of his trials that he was drunk and blacked out at the time of the rape.My mother and family did not raise me in any way to mistreat anyone, let alone a woman, as I have been raised predominantly by women, Batey told the court. I hope that if not today, maybe one day, you will find it in your heart to forgive me for any damages that I may have caused.Batey and Brandon Vandenburg were convicted last year, but the verdicts were tossed because a juror did not reveal he was a victim of statutory rape. They have both been convicted a second time. Two other players are awaiting trial.In handing down his sentence, Judge Watkins said the case stood out among the thousands he has seen in 32 years of practicing law.Ive seen so many cases, and this is one of the saddest, Watkins said. ' ' '