BALTIMORE -- Ryan Pepiot stood in front of the mound, arms raised and eyes wide. On the edge of the infield, Taylor Walls pumped his fist and shouted. At first base, Gunnar Henderson stopped his slow trip around the bases and slammed his helmet to the dirt.

And on the warning track, Jose Siri took a bow.

With two outs in the fourth inning of the Rays¡¯ 7-1 win over the Orioles on Saturday afternoon, Siri robbed Gunnar Henderson of a go-ahead, three-run homer, a spectacular play that left Baltimore shocked and his teammates awed.

¡°I don¡¯t know if I have the words to describe it, but it was a game-changer, for sure,¡± Rays manager Kevin Cash said. ¡°Off the bat, I kind of put my head down thinking they just took the lead, but Jose made sure that didn¡¯t happen.¡±

The Rays (70-72) took an early lead with a pair of home runs by Yandy D¨ªaz, who launched a Statcast-projected 440-foot leadoff shot off former Ray Zach Eflin, and Taylor Walls, who ripped his first homer of the season in the third and drove in another run in the sixth.

They kept it thanks to Pepiot, who worked his way out of a couple early jams and pitched 5 1/3 innings, and three relievers who struck out six over 3 2/3 hitless innings.

But the highlight of the day was Siri¡¯s pivotal defensive gem.

Cash called it ¡°amazing,¡± comparing it to a similar play Kevin Kiermaier made here to rob Manny Machado in 2015. Pepiot and catcher Logan Driscoll said it was ¡°incredible.¡± Walls described it as ¡°athletic¡± and ¡°unbelievable,¡± the same adjective Henderson used.

Naturally, Siri didn¡¯t even think it was his best play of the season. He said his home run robbery against Zack Gelof on May 29 -- complete with a leap over Randy Arozarena at the wall -- is still No. 1.

This one¡¯s up there, though.

¡°It¡¯s probably No. 2,¡± Siri said through interpreter Manny Navarro.

With the Rays ahead, 2-0, the Orioles threatened in the fourth after two-out singles from Emmanuel Rivera and James McCann. Up came Henderson, the All-Star shortstop with 36 homers on the year.

Pepiot fell behind in the count, 3-0, then threw one strike before Henderson fouled off four consecutive fastballs. Henderson smashed the ninth pitch of the at-bat, another fastball, out to center at 100.9 mph. He watched the ball fly and slowly walked out of the batter¡¯s box as the crowd began to roar, anticipating a home run.

¡°It was a swing of emotions. It was, ¡®Oh, we¡¯re up. Oh, now, we¡¯re down. Oh, we¡¯re up still,¡¯¡± Walls said. ¡°[Siri] does those things like it¡¯s normal, honestly. If a ball¡¯s hit in the vicinity of where he can catch it, you know there¡¯s a chance he¡¯s going to get it.¡±

Siri said he told himself to ¡°stay calm,¡± knowing he had time because of how high the ball was hit. His tranquil demeanor led Driscoll to think he was ¡°deking¡± both teams. But he glided back toward the warning track, perfectly timed his jump and stretched his left arm over the wall, pulling his glove back just before landing.

¡°He¡¯s made incredible plays for us all year, and that was a big swing,¡± Pepiot said. ¡°Shoutout to him, saving my outings and saving us the win right there.¡±

Josh Lowe ran over from right field, raising his arms and leaping in celebration. Siri patted his chest twice and bowed, soaking in the stunned silence. With the ball in his right hand, Siri took a deep breath and pushed both hands down, signaling for the crowd of 34,256 to stay calm as he trotted off the field to celebrate with his teammates.

¡°Just to let them know not to get mad,¡± Siri said, smiling. ¡°It¡¯s just the game, and things like that are going to happen.¡±

Siri hasn¡¯t quite been able to build on what he did offensively with his 25-homer performance last season. He¡¯s batting just .190 with a .628 OPS and a 37.5% strikeout rate, and he¡¯s been benched twice this season for a lack of hustle.

But according to Statcast, Siri entered the day with 15 Outs Above Average, tied with Toronto¡¯s Daulton Varsho for second most in the Majors among outfielders behind Washington¡¯s Jacob Young (20). He remains one of the game¡¯s best defensive center fielders, and Saturday¡¯s play was just the latest reminder.

¡°We¡¯re really fortunate to be able to run him out there. The attention to detail when he¡¯s focused, when he¡¯s locked in, it¡¯s a special skill set that not many in the game have,¡± Cash said. ¡°I know our pitchers really appreciate having him and the ground that he covers.¡±