Cowser hits 2nd game-winning HR in 2 days, giving the Orioles a 9-7 win over the Rays in 13 innings

BALTIMORE (AP) — Colton Cowser hit a two-run game-winning homer in the 13th inning — his second walk-off shot in as many days — to give the Baltimore Orioles a 9-7 win over the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays on Monday.

Cowser's 425-foot blast off Jesse Scholtens (5-3) was just his third homer of the season and punctuated a wild victory in which the Orioles rallied three times in extra innings. Cowser becomes Baltimore’s first player to hit walk-off homers on consecutive days since Fred Lynn on May 10-11, 1985, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Pete Alonso and Jeremiah Jackson each singled in a run to tie it at 4-all in the 11th. Cowser scored the game-tying run to make it 5-all in the 12th on Gunnar Henderson's grounder to first, a sequence originally called an out by plate umpire Ryan Additon before a replay challenge showed the sliding Cowser snuck an arm under Nick Fortes’ tag.

Then, Leody Taveras doubled and Jackson Holliday hit a sacrifice fly to tie it a 7 in the 13th, setting up Cowser's drive that landed in the seats in right-center, mirroring his game-winning homer in Sunday's 5-3 victory over Detroit in the first game of a doubleheader.

Jonathan Aranda hit his ninth home run in the sixth and added a sacrifice fly in the 12th for the Rays, who lost consecutive games for the first time since dropping three straight April 19-21 in their second 13-inning game — and first such loss —this season.

Victor Mesa Jr. hit his second career home run, a two-run shot in the 12th inning of his Tampa Bay debut. And, Cedric Mullins and Richie Palacios each singled in the top of the 13th off Dietrich Enns (3-0).

Mullins received an approximately 10-second standing ovation while in the on-deck circle in the second inning. It was his first game in Baltimore as visitor after playing with the Orioles from 2018-25.

Orioles right-hander Shane Baz (1-5, 4.87 ERA) face Rays RHP Griffin Jax (1-2, 3.54) on Tuesday.

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Baltimore Orioles' fielder Colton Cowser (17) scores against Tampa Bay Rays catcher Hunter Feduccia, left, during the 12th inning of a baseball game, Monday, May 25, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles' Colton Cowser, center, celebrates with teammates after hitting a walk off two-run home run during the 13th inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Monday, May 25, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles' Colton Cowser celebrates after hitting a walkoff two-run home run during the 13th inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Monday, May 25, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles' Colton Cowser rounds the bases after hitting a walkoff two-run home run during the 13th inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Monday, May 25, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles' Colton Cowser, right, celebrates with teammates after hitting a walk off two-run home run during the 13th inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Monday, May 25, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

PUERTO PLATA, Dominican Republic (AP) — Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco was declared criminally responsible for the sexual and psychological abuse of a minor, but he will not serve a sentence for it, a Dominican judge ruled Monday.

Judge José Antonio Núñez, in his decision, considered that Franco had been the victim of extortion and blackmail by the minor's mother, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexually trafficking her daughter.

“It seems contradictory to declare criminal responsibility and at the same time exempt him from punishment. The court has granted Wander Franco a judicial pardon due to the particular circumstances that made him a material victim, but not a legal one,” explained Núñez.

The judge justified the judicial pardon as a “logical and legal reasoning.”

“Thank God for everything,” Franco expressed as he effusively embraced his mother, Nancy Aybar, and other family members who accompanied him in court.

Franco was arrested in January 2024 after being accused of having a four-month relationship with a girl who was 14 at the time and transferring thousands of dollars to her mother to consent to the illegal relationship.

After the ruling, Franco left the courthouse alongside his lawyer, Teodosio Jáquez, and briefly answered reporters’ questions, saying, “I feel calm,” and asking his fans to “continue supporting me and trusting in me.”

Franco also said he personally had not contacted the Rays but that his lawyers surely had.

“We are aware of today’s verdict in the Wander Franco trial and will conclude our investigation at the appropriate time,” Major League Baseball said in a statement.

Franco attorney Jáquez said: “We don’t have the physical sentence in our hands, but he was exempted from punishment because the president of the court established that he was also a victim and because he is exempted from punishment through judicial pardon."

The full sentencing will be June 16.

“When we have the full sentence in hand, we will give you more details," Jáquez said. "He was exempted from punishment and we think that’s fine, but we need to have the sentence in hand.

In November 2021, Franco signed an 11-year, $182 million contract with the Rays, but his career was upended when authorities in the Dominican Republic announced in August 2023 that they were investigating him for an alleged relationship with a minor. Franco was 22 at the time.

Six months after his arrest, Tampa Bay placed him on the restricted list, which cut off the pay he had been receiving while on administrative leave.

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Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco, center, leaves court after his trial on charges of sexually abusing a minor in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez)

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco leaves court after his trial on charges of sexually abusing a minor in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez)

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco gestures in court at the end of his trial on charges of sexually abusing a minor in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez)

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco gestures in court during his trial on charges of sexually abusing a minor in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez)