Joey Wendle had three hits and two RBIs, Adeiny Hechavarria homered and the Tampa Bay Rays beat former teammate Alex Cobb and the Baltimore Orioles 8-4 Wednesday night

The game marked the return of left-hander Jonny Venters following a six-year absence and four major elbow operations, including three Tommy John surgeries. After being recalled from Triple-A Durham earlier in the day, the 33-year-old Venters used four pitches to retire Chris Davis - the only batter he faced - on a grounder in the sixth inning.

Venters then received a warm greeting in the Tampa Bay dugout, which seemed to be the perfect end to what the 2011 All-Star earlier called "an emotional day.''

Cobb, meanwhile, was treated rather rudely by the Rays in his first appearance against them since joining the Orioles as a free agent in March following a six-year run in Tampa Bay.

Denard Span ripped a double on Cobb's first pitch of the night, and the right-hander exited in the fifth inning after allowing five runs and 10 hits.

In his three starts since signing a four-year, $57 million contract with Baltimore, Cobb (0-3) has yielded 17 runs and 30 hits.

Chance Sisco homered and newcomer Jace Peterson had two RBIs for the Orioles, who have lost 10 of 11. 

A steady rain began to fall in the fifth inning, and that's when Tampa Bay began pelting Cobb with hits to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 lead. C.J. Cron doubled in two runs, Brad Miller delivered a sacrifice fly and Wendle added an RBI single.

Sisco connected off starter Jake Faria in the bottom half, but Hechavarria restored the two-run cushion with a solo shot in the sixth.

Rookie Andrew Kittredge (1-2) got two outs in the fifth to earn his first major league win. 

TRAINER'S ROOM

Rays: INF Matt Duffy (right hamstring strain) could be activated from the DL on Friday, manager Kevin Cash said. RHP Nathan Eovaldi, who underwent surgery on March 30 to remove loose pieces of cartilage from his elbow, has had a "pretty remarkable'' recovery so far, Cash said, though no timetable has been set for his return.

Orioles: INF Tim Beckham (groin) was placed on the 10-day disabled list. Beckham must decide whether to have surgery, which would likely fix the problem but force him to miss at least six weeks. DH Mark Trumbo (quad strain) went 0 for 4 with Double-A Bowie but is edging closer to returning. "He feels good,'' manager Buck Showalter said. 

UP NEXT

Rays: Chris Archer (1-1, 6.59 ERA) starts the series finale Thursday night. Archer has yielded at least one HR in five straight games.

Orioles: Dylan Bundy (1-2, 1.42 ERA) has given up five earned runs in his five starts and limited the opposition to a .220 batting average.