by Steve Carney

Evan Longoria sure knows how to make Game 162 interesting.

Longoria hit three solo home runs to back Jeremy Hellckson to a 4-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles in the 2012 regular season finale Wednesday.

Longoria got the scoring started in the first inning with a two-out blast into the left field seats.

The Tampa Bay third baseman added to the lead in the fourth with a mammoth home run nearly two-thirds the way up the stands in left for a 2-0 lead.  Two batters later, Ryan Roberts hit a solo shot to make it 3-0.

Longoria's third bast, to centerfield in the sixth made it 4-0.

Baltimore's lone run came in the ninth, as a sacrifice fly by Adam Jones scored J.J. Hardy, and after Matt Wieters singled with two out, Maddon brought in Fernando Rodney to retire Jim Thome for the final out and earn his 48th save.

Tampa Bay finished the regular season 90-72.