TAMPA (Interstat) — Gunnar Henderson went 4 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs, and the Baltimore Orioles held off a late Tampa Bay Rays rally for a 6-5 victory Friday at George Steinbrenner Field.

The Orioles took control with two runs in the seventh and two in the eighth, then survived a three-run ninth from the Rays. Henderson led the way, doubling in the seventh and homering in the eighth, and his two-run shot in the third gave Baltimore a lead it never relinquished.

Baltimore opened the scoring in the second inning. Tyler O’Neill walked with one out and Henderson followed with a single, sending O’Neill to third. Christian Encarnacion-Strand then lifted a sacrifice fly to right field, bringing home O’Neill for a 1-0 lead.

Tampa Bay answered in the bottom half. Liam Hicks singled and Cedric Mullins followed with a single before Richie Palacios doubled to right, scoring Hicks and sending Mullins to third. The Rays, however, could not push across another run, and the game remained tied at 1.

Henderson put Baltimore back in front with one swing in the third, hitting his 10th homer of the season to center field. The Orioles had a chance to add more after Pete Alonso singled, but Jackson Holliday struck out and Coby Mayo was called out on strikes to end the inning.

The Rays tied it again in the bottom of the third. Junior Caminero walked and stole second, then Victor Mesa Jr. singled to center to bring him home. Cedric Mullins grounded out to end the inning with the score knotted at 2.

Neither team threatened much over the next three innings. Baltimore grounded into two double plays during that stretch, and Rays starter Steven Matz worked a scoreless inning in relief. Orioles starter Chris Bassitt kept Tampa Bay off the board after the third, finishing with 5 1/3 innings pitched, five hits allowed, two earned runs and three strikeouts.

The game broke open in the seventh. Henderson led off with a double to right, and Encarnacion-Strand singled to left to put runners at the corners. Leody Taveras then grounded into a fielder’s choice, with Encarnacion-Strand thrown out at third. Garrett Cleavinger intentionally walked Jeremiah Jackson to load the bases. Dylan Beavers delivered with a single to right, scoring Henderson and Taveras. The throw to third on the play cut down Jackson, but the Orioles had a 4-2 lead.

Baltimore extended the lead in the eighth. O’Neill singled with one out, and Henderson followed with his 20th homer of the season, a fly ball to right-center that scored O’Neill and made it 6-2.

Tampa Bay mounted a rally in the ninth. Richie Palacios singled and Taylor Walls singled, putting runners at first and second. Yandy Díaz struck out, but Jonathan Aranda lined a single to right, scoring Palacios and Walls to cut the lead to 6-4. Chandler Simpson walked to put runners at first and second. Junior Caminero then grounded out to third, but a run scored on the play to make it 6-5. Cam Sanders entered with two outs and intentionally walked Liam Hicks before Ryan Vilade flied out to center to end the game.

Sanders earned his second save by recording the final out. Josh Walker picked up the win with 2/3 of a scoreless inning, striking out one. Cleavinger took the loss after allowing two runs in the seventh.

The attendance was 18,343 and the game lasted 3 hours, 6 minutes.

Baltimore improved to 59-64 with the win, while Tampa Bay dropped to 74-48.

Henderson added a single in the second and a single in the fourth to complete his perfect night at the plate. His previous three games had produced one hit in each, but he broke out in a big way Friday.

Colton Cowser also homered for Baltimore, a solo shot in the third inning. Cowser finished 1 for 2 with an RBI. Pete Alonso had two hits, and Dylan Beavers added two hits and two RBIs.

For Tampa Bay, Palacios doubled and singled, and Aranda collected two hits and two RBIs. Mesa Jr. singled in a run in the third.

The Orioles got scoreless relief from Rico Garcia, Andrew Kittredge and Sanders. Kittredge allowed one hit and struck out one in his inning. Cam Booser struck out two in a perfect inning for Tampa Bay.

Tampa Bay’s late rally fell short despite sending the tying run to the plate. The Orioles turned two double plays in the game, both on the ground, and the Rays stranded nine runners.

Baltimore will play the Rays again Saturday at George Steinbrenner Field. The Orioles have won three of their last four, while Tampa Bay had won four straight before Friday.

The Orioles took advantage of Henderson’s production at the top of the order. He scored twice, drove in two and reached base every time he came to the plate. His double in the seventh sparked the go-ahead rally, and his homer in the eighth provided what proved to be the decisive runs.

Tampa Bay had a chance to complete a dramatic comeback in the ninth, but Sanders sealed the win by getting Vilade to fly out. The final play came with the bases loaded, as Vilade’s sharp line drive to center was caught by Taveras.

Baltimore starter Bassitt kept the Rays in check through the middle innings after allowing the tying run in the third. He retired eight of nine batters from the fourth through the sixth, with only a walk in the sixth preventing a perfect stretch.

The Orioles bullpen combined for 3 2/3 scoreless innings before the ninth. Walker entered in the seventh and retired the only batter he faced. Kittredge worked the eighth, and Sanders closed out the ninth while allowing no hits.

The Rays’ bullpen also kept the game close for most of the night. Steven Matz struck out one in a scoreless inning, Tyler Wells gave up one hit in a scoreless frame, and Booser struck out two in a perfect inning.

The Rays had won the previous three meetings between the teams this season, including a 16-6 blowout in May. Baltimore’s win Friday snapped that skid and evened the season series at three games apiece.

Henderson’s performance marked his first multi-hit game since Aug. 17 at Tampa Bay, when he went 2 for 5. He had been hitless in two of his previous three games, but he delivered when it mattered most Friday.

The Orioles scored all six runs without the benefit of a big inning. They strung together hits in the second, third, seventh and eighth, with Henderson involved in three of those rallies.

The Rays scored in three separate innings as well, but they could not overcome the four-run deficit after the eighth. Their three-run ninth made the final margin close, but they left the tying run in scoring position when Vilade flied out.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Tampa Bay Rays 7, Baltimore Orioles 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave Tampa Bay a 60.80 percent probability to win. The Rays were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5, and the combined total of 11 runs went under the over/under line of 8.5.