The Tampa Bay Rays once again gave the Oakland Athletics an early three-run lead and just were unable to make a real comeback, falling in the finale of their seven-game homestand 6-3 and dropping three of four in the series.
For left-hander Josh Fleming, it was a combination of soft hits and a fielding miscue that led to the Athletics taking the lead in the second inning. Billy McKinney and Elvis Andrus each reached on base hits, and following a fly out by Austin Allen, Cristian Pache‘s ground ball to left-center was kicked by Randy Arozarena past Kevin Kiermaier and to the center field wall, allowing all three runners to come around and score.
Manuel Margot got one of the runs back in the bottom of the third, driving in Arozarena with a base hit, but Oakland re-established it’s three run lead in the fourth with an RBI double by Sean Murphy, then added another run in the fifth on a RBI fielder’s choice by Chad Pinder off Jeffrey Springs.
Former USF Bull Phoenix Sanders made his major league debut in the fifth. The right-hander ended up loading the bases on singles from Sheldon Neuse and Andrus sandwiching a walk to McKinney. But at that point Sanders began to settle in, getting Kevin Smith to ground into a double play that made it 6-1, and striking out Austin Allen to escape the jam with minimal damage.
The Rays added two more runs in the seventh on a two-run homer by Brandon Lowe, his third of the year. But Tampa Bay could not get the tying run to the plate in any situation, and Oakland was able to finish out the game using A.J. Puk and Dany Jimenez.
The Rays head to the Windy City for a six-game road trip starting with a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox. Right-hander Drew Rasmussen (0-0, 4.50 ERA) will get the start, taking on Dylan Cease (1-0, 1.80 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:10.
Steve Carney is the founder and publisher of St. Pete Nine. One of the people most associated with baseball coverage in Tampa Bay, he spent 13 seasons covering the Rays for flagship radio station WDAE, first as producer of Rays Radio broadcasts, then as beat reporter beginning in 2011. He likes new analytics and aged bourbon, and is the owner of one of the ugliest knuckleballs ever witnessed by baseball scouts.
