Tag: Tampa Bay Rays

Tampa Bay Rays’ Randy Arozarena slides home to score against the Oakland Athletics at Oakland Coliseum on Wed May 4, 2022 (AP News photo)

BY Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–The Tampa Bay Rays (15-10) beat the Oakland A’s (10-15) 3-0 to sweep the three-game series. The A’s suffered their sixth loss in a row and have lost nine of their last eleven games. The team continues not to hit well.

The A’s had four hits on Wednesday afternoon. Seth Brown had the hardest-hit ball when he tripled in the bottom of the second. 

The game was scoreless for seven innings. The A’s ace, Frankie Montas, was dominant. He went seven innings and allowed four hits and no runs. His opponent, former two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber pitched a masterful six innings.

Kluber looked like the dominant pitcher he was when he pitched in Cleveland. Kluber’s line was six innings, three hits, and no runs. He threw just 64 pitches.

One of the adages in baseball is that good teams find a way to win. Bad teams find a way to lose. The A’s found a way to lose Wednesday afternoon. The Rays put three runs on the board as the A’s reliever Zach Jackson walked two, hit a batter, and gave up a single.

The Rays’ third run scored on a balk. The results are bad when teams have trouble scoring runs and the relievers aren’t performing well. The game summary follows below.

The Rays put three runs on the board in the top of the eighth with just one hit. In relief of Frenkie Montas, Zach Jackson walked Brett Phillips to start the frame. Phillips went to second on a wild pitch. Jackson retired Yandy Diaz for the first out.

Phillips went to third on the play. The next hitter Wander Franco struck out. Jackson walked Randy Arozarena and hit Brandon Lowe with a pitch to load the bases with two out. The Rays’ Manuel Margot singled to right-field to drive in Phillips and Arozarena.

A’s manager Mark Kotsay brought in Domingo Acevedo to pitch with men on at first and third. The Rays plated the third run when a balk was called on Acevedo. The Rays lead 3-0 midway through the eighth inning. The Rays’ bullpen shut the A’s down in the eighth and ninth innings to win the game 3-0.

Game Notes: The A’s ended the six-game homestand 0-6. The A’s are 10-15 for the year with the loss. The Rays are 15-10. The winning pitcher for Tampa was J.P.Feyereisen. Zach Jackson was the losing pitcher. 

The A’s are off on Thursday as they are traveling to Minneapolis to face the Twins for three games starting Friday night. Left Cole Irvin will itch for Oakland. Irvin is 2-1 with a 2.93 ERA. The Twins have not announced their starting pitcher. 

The time of the game was two hours and thirty-nine minutes, and there were 4838 people present to watch the A’s lose.

Tampa Bay Rays’ Mike Zunino gestures after hitting a two-run home run against the Oakland Athletics in the top of the ninth inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Tue May 3, 2022 (AP News photo)

Tampa Bay. 10. 14. 0

Oakland 7. 10. 0

Tuesday May 3, 2022

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–The only consolation that the Athletics could salvage from last night’s debacle was their incredibly fine performance of their relievers, which hurled five innings without a blotch on its echelon. One runner reached first on an error, and that was it.

Lou Trivino once was a stalward of the A’s bullpen. He hasn’t been one this year, and the team hoped he change that situation with his return from the covid list, which was announced before game time. He didn’t.

Tonight the Athletics put their faith in their starter, Paul Blackburn. He’d justified that faith so far this season, going 3-0, 1.35 in his four starts, striking out 18 oppoints and walking only two. The only fly in that particular ointment is that the 6’1″, 195 lb. righty went five–no more, no less–innings in each and every appearance. In his first of the season, he held Tampa Bay runless on three hits over his quintet of frames.

The Rays chose southpaw Ryan Yarbrough to face the hometown crew in his first start of the season, in St. Petersburg on April 12, but tightness in his left groin kept him out of action and on the injured list until today.

The game started inauspiciously for the Oakland nine. Yandy Díaz led off with a nubber down the third base line that Kevin Smith couldn’t come up with. The ball bounced off the bag, and Díaz made it to first with a single.

Smith, playing in the shift, fielded Wander Franco’s grounder to the right of second and tagged Díaz out. But Franco had tied the A’s third baseman long enough for Franco to arrive safely at first. Brando Lowe’s two double to right center put the Rays ahead before Manuel Margot popped out to short to end the inning.

Oakland came back with a vengeance in its half of the frame. Chad Pinder beat out Franco’s throw from short for an infield single. He moved up to second on Sheldon Neuse’s walk. Jed Lowrie smacked a hard line drive to Randy Arozarena in left, who dropped it but recovered quickly enough to force Pinder out at third.

Sean Murphy popped out to first for the second out. Stephen Piscottty’s walk loaded the bases, and Christian. Bethancourt’s walk forced in Neuse and left the basepaths clogged.

That set the stage for Smith to redeem his two misplays in the top of the inning. He took an 84mph cutter 381 feet deep, into the left field bleachers for the first home run of the season, a grand slam that put Oakand up, 5-1.

Kevin Kiermaier’s lead off single, followed an out later by Brett Phillips 419 foot blast in right center off of an 85mph changeup closed that margin to 5-3 after two.

With Piscotty and Bethancourt on base with none out in the bottom of the third, Yarbrough caught Smith looking at a third strike and then left the game, relieved by his namesake Ryan Thompson. Tampa Bay’s starter had lasted 2-1/3 episodes, allowing five runs, all earned, on six hits, including Smith’s grand slam,three walks and a hit batter.

He threw 56 pitches, 32 of which qualified as strikes. Thompson got out of the inning without allowing the A’s to do further damage.

Blackburn had to face some more troubles in the fourth. It wasn’t as bad as what he’d faced in the previous inning, when he’d stymied the Rays after Arozarena’s one out triple. Now he had to deal with a one out double by Taylor Walls. He solved that problem by picking off the Floridian runner in a long rundown and striking out Phillips.

Thompson pitched 1-1/3 innings and did it well, not allowing anyone to reach base safely and fanning one. Jeffrey Springscame and ended the frame by striking out Lowrie.

Blackburn’s streak of four consecutive outings of five innings was shattering in the fifth. Zach Jackson relieved him with Díaz on first with a walk and one man out. Franco greeted the newcomer with a single to right that sent the runner to third. But Arozarena smacked a grounder that Andrus turned into a nifty 6-4-3 twin killing.

Blackburn left having thrown 64 pitches, 42 for strikes. The three runs scored against him were earned, and he allowed six hits and a walk. He struck out five. His ERA rose but only to a still more than respectable 2.22.

Manager Kotsay called on AJ Puck for Tampa Bay’s sixth. He sailed through both that and seventh frame; he struck out two of the six batters he faced. None reached base. Danny Jiménez relieved him, pitching a spotless eighth.

Matt Wisler took over after Spring´s successful 3-1/3 inning intervention.during which he held the A’s to two singles.

It now was up to Kirby Snead to face the Rays’ number four, five, and six hitters to save the game for the A’s. Except that Isaac Paredes pinch hit for the cleanup man, Lowe.

He worked a full count, but Snead got him to fly out to Billy McKinnie, who had pinch hit for Bethancourt and now was playing in right field. Margot reached first on a single to center. Mike Zunino, batting all of .106, lofted a 402 foot blast over the State Farm sign in left center, tying the game at five.

After Taylor singled to right and advanced to second on Phillips’ ground out to first, Trivino got a chance to prove his worth. He would have pitched to number nine hitter René Pinto, but it was pinch hitting Harold Ramírez who grounded out to Andrius to end the inning.

Andrew Kitteridge took over in the ninth to preserve the tie and send the game into extra innings, retiring the bottom third of the Oakland lineup in order.

Trivino remained on the mound in the top of the tenth, with Ramírez on second as the zombie runner. Soon it was Díaz on second, after Tampa Bay´s first sacker doubled off the Craftsman sign in right center, driving Ramírez home with the leading run. Franco then was granted an intentional pass to first.

He and Díaz moved up a bag on Arozaren’s slow ground out, Andrus to Seth Brown, now at first after having pinch hit for Piscotty in the eighth. The A’s pulled in the infield for a possible play at the plate. Paredes lifted a single to left over the drawn in fielders to bring in the two runners.

Then Margot smacked a triple to left center to bring Paredes home. Zunino drove in Margot for another tally, and, just like that, Justin Grimm was on the mound, facing Taylor Walls and trailing 10-5. Grimm retired Walls on a pop to third and then walked Phillips, but retired Ramírez to end Oakland´s misery.

Jason Adam was the last hurler on the mound for the visitors, starting the tenth with Pache placed on second, by fanning Plnder. Hope sprang eternal in the breasts of the 2,815 diehards in the stands when Neuse doubled to drive Pache in, making the score the score 10-6.

After Nuese reached third on Lowrie’s groundout to first, Murphy’s seeing eye broken bat single to left made it 10-7. Brown worked a full count before grounding out to short to end a most disappointing failure.

The win went to Kittridge, his second against. no defeats, for his inning of work. The loss, of course, was charged to Trivino, who, in a mere 2/3 of an inning allowed five runs, four of them earned on four hits and a walk. It took him 20 pitches to do this, lowering his won-lost record to 0-2 and raising his ERA to 12.46.

The series concludes Wednesday afternoon at 12:37 with A’s starter Frankie Montás (2-2 ERA 4.25) facing Corey Kluber (1-1ERA 3.50)

Tampa Bay Rays’ Kevin Kiermaier slides home to score against the Oakland Athletics in the fifth inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Mon May 2, 2022 (AP News photo)

Tampa Bay. 6. 11. 0

Oakland. 1. 2. 2

Monday May 2, 2022

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–The Oakland A’s (10-13) started this season by dropping a three game series to the Phillies in the City of Brotherly Love. They righted the ship by taking three out of four in St. Petersburg, the retirement community that is home to the Salvador Dalí Museum and the monstrosity known as Tropicana field. The A’s took it on the chin on Monday night at the Oakland Coliseum with a 6-1 loss to the visiting Tampa Bay Rays (13-10) to open a three game set.

By April 19 they reached the giddy heights of 7-5 and a tie with the Angels for first place in the AL West. Oakland finished the month at 10-11, last in their division

They continued to decline at the start of this month. Their 7-3 May Day loss to Cleveland wasn’t a distress call, but it wasn’t a harbinger of a smooth passage to the extended playoffs. Indeed, it completed the Guardians’ sweep of the three game series between the two teams.

The pitcher who earned the green and gold their first win of the season was Daulton Jefferies. He has pitched decently, in spite of losing to Toronto, Baltimore, and San Francisco in his three post Tampa Bay starts, only one of which lasted more than 4-1/3 innings.

Jefferies took the mound tonight with a record of 1-3 ERA 3.26, hoping to spark a turn around similar to the one that followed his start in the bailiwick of tonight’s opponents, the Rays. At least he wouldn’t have to deal with catwalks and artificial turf.

It did, however, have to deal with a team that is 12-10 in spite of its current two game losing streak, during which they scored only four runs against The Twins, who crossed the plate 18 times.

Their choice to face the A’s was right hander Drew Rasmussen, who brought his record to 1-1ERA 3.50 by going six innings to gain his first win of the season by defeating the Mariners in Seattle, allowing only a walk, a single, and a double.

Back at the Coliseum, a select group of 2,288 spectators saw the Rays crush the A’s, shortly after the Bay Area Conservation and Development Commission voted to approve the proposed Howard Terminal Stadium.

Yandy Díaz started things off for the visitors by parking Jefferies´sixth pitch, an 80mph curve on a 1-2 count, 407 feet into the staircase to the right of the nearly empty left field seats.

Oakland countered that long ball with some small ball in the bottom of the second. Seth Brown worked a two out 3-2 count for a walk and, with Chad Pinder at bat, stole second. Pinder’s single to right center knotted this score.

Wander Franco unknotted it for the Rays, with a little help from Cristián Pache, in Tampa Bay´s next AB. With Díaz on first with a lead off single, Franco singled to center and a charging Pache let the ball bounce over his head.

Franco reached third on the two base error and came home on Randy Arozarená’s single to center, but that was all the scoring the Rays were able to muster in that frame. Nonetheless, they had stretched their lead to 3-1.

Mike Zunino, whose BA wasn’t even half way up to the Mendoza line, got only his third RBI of the season by singling Manuel Margot, who had led off with a double, home and then advanced his lumbering frame to second on the throw, scoring one out later on Franco’s single to right. The score now stood at 5-1 in favor of the visitors.

It was 6-1 after 4-1/2. Margot’s two out two bagger plated Kevin Kiermaier with two down was responsible for the additional tally.

Jefferies didn’t come out to pitch in the sixth. He had managed to throw 90 pitches, 60 of which were considered strikes, in his five innings of work. All six of the runs scored against him were earned.

They came on 11 hits, one of which left the park. He struck out four but didn’t walk anyone. He was the losing pitcher. Oakland’s new pitcher was Domingo Acevedo, who retired six of the seven hitters he faced over the next two innings. The only exception was Franco, who reached on an error by Elvis Andrus in the sixth.

Rasmussen’s night’s work also ended after five innings. His other numbers were quite different from Jeffries’. The Rays’ starter allowed but one hit and one, earned, run, while striking out three and walking one.

He would get the win. Jason Adam replaced him in the sixth and set the A’s down in order before passing the baton to Phoenix Sanders. Sanders gave up the Athletics’ second hit of the night, a bunt single by Jed Lowrie.

Sam Moll was Oakland’s third hurler, taking over to start the eighth and setting the Rays down 1,2,3 with two strikeouts. Ryan Thompson, in turn, pitched a perfect bottom of the eighth for Tampa Bay.

Adam Kolarek finished up for the Athletics, retiring all three batters he confronted. Indeed, Oakland’s bullpen was nearly perfect. The only baserunner it allowed in its four innings on the mound came on Andrus’s error in the sixth frame.

Andrew Kittridge threw a perfect ninth for the Rays.

Oakland’s ace, Paul Blackburn will get the start on Tuesday night 3-0 ERA 1.35 mark against Tampa Bay pitcher to be announced in the second game of the current. series. Game time will be 6:40 at the Oakland Coliseum.

Oakland A’s Cristian Pache hustles around third as he’s waved in by third base coach Darren Bush in the top of the second inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Thu Apr 14, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s (4-3) downed the Tampa Bay Rays (4-3) 6-3 Thursday afternoon at Tropicana Field. The A’s starter, Cole Irvin, gave the A’s six and one-third innings and held the potent Rays’ lineup in check. The A’s won the series three games to one.

Winning three out of four from Tampa is no easy task. The Rays are loaded with terrific young players like Wander Franco, Randy Arozarena, Ji-Man Choi, Brandon Lowe, Brett Phillips, and Kevin Kiermaier.

They are a tough bunch to hold in check. Yet, the A’s pitchers did well as they are now 4-3 for the year. This weekend, the A’s are winging their way to Toronto to face another formidable lineup.

For the fourth game in a row, the A’s jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. In the first three games, A’s hitters slugged a three-run dinger. They used a different formula to put the three runs on the board on Thursday.

A’s shortstop Elvis Andrus continued his hot start with a single to left. Kevin Smith followed with a single, his first hit of the year. Rays’ starter, Josh Fleming, retired Austin Allen for the second out. A’s centerfielder, Cristian Pache, singled to left-center. Rays’ left fielder, Randy Arozarena, attempted to cut the ball off from going into the gap in left-centerfield.

As he was sliding, the ball kicked off his foot and was to the wall. Kevin Kiermaier chased the ball down. He had trouble getting a good grip on the ball, which allowed the speedy Pache to score. The A’s led 3-0 midway through the second inning.

The Rays got one back in the half of the second. Randy Arozarena, trying to atone for his miscue, doubled leading off the frame. Brandon Lowe singled, sending Arozarena to third with no out. Manuel Margot singled to drive in Arozarena with the Rays’ first run. Cole Irvin retired Mike Zunino on a flyball to rightfield.

The Rays’ runners tagged and attempted to advance a base. Lowe made it safely to third. Billy McKinney’s strong throw to Elvis Andrus nailed Margot at second base. Umpire Jerry Lane was knocked to the ground as he watched the play to make the call. Lane got up and signaled that Margot was out. Cole retired Kiermaier for the third out. The A’s led 3-1 after two complete.

In the third, fourth, and fifth innings, the A’s added a run to take a 6-1 advantage. In the third, a single by Chad Pinder and a booming double by Sean Murphy produced the A’s fourth run.

In the fourth, the A’s loaded the bases with a walk to Smith, Pache’s infield single, and a walk to Tony Kemp. Pinder grounded out. Smith scored on the play. The A’s loaded the bases in the fifth. The run scored when Kevin Smith hit into a 6-4-3 double play.

In the meantime, Cole Irvin found his groove. The. Lefty mowed down 14 Rays’ hitters in a row. The streak ended when Rays’ DH Harold Ramirez doubled to lead off the seventh. Cole retired Randy Arozarena for the first out.

Brandon Lowe showed the A’s why he is one of the better hitters in the Rays’ lineup. The second baseman sent one of Irvin’s offerings into the seats in right field to close the gap to 6-3. A’s manager Mark Kotsay saw enough. He brought in Domingo Acevedo to pitch. Acevedo did his job as he struck out Mike Zunino and Kevin Kiermaier to end the seventh.

A.J. Puk held the Rays scoreless in the eighth, and Dany Jimenez earned his first-career save to preserve the win for Oakland.

Game Notes- With the win, the A’s are 4-3. The Rays’ record dropped to 4-3.
Irvin was the winning pitcher. His record is now 1-1. He went six and one-third innings, allowing five hits and three runs. He struck out two and did not walk a batter. The Rays’ Josh Fleming took the loss. He is now 1-1. Fleming went three and one-third innings and allowed seven hits and five runs. Only three of the runs were earned.

A’s catcher Sean Murphy had two doubles in the game. The line for Oakland was six runs, nine hits, and one error. The line for Tampa was three runs, six hits, and one very costly error.

The A’s start a three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays starting Friday night in Toronto. The A’s will send Daulton Jeffries to the hill to face a formidable Toronto offense. The Blue Jays will feature Vladimir Guerrero, Jr, Bo Bichitte, and George Springer. It will not be easy. The Blue Jays’ starter will be Ross Stripling. The game will start at 4:07 pm.

The time of the game was 2:33 minutes. 6,287 fans watched the Rays lose for the third time in the four-game series. The total number of people that watched the four-game series was about 35,000. Despite their success on the field, the Rays continue to draw poorly. They, as well as the A’s, need a new ballpark. Hopefully, both teams will get a new stadium, The sooner, the better.

Oakland Athletics’ Sean Murphy (12) get congratulated by Jed Lowrie (8) after Murphy’s three run third inning blast off Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Shane McClanahan at Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay on Wed Apr 13, 2022 (AP NEWS PHOTO)

By Jerry Feitelberg

On Wednesday evening, the Oakland A’s (3-3) sent their ace, Frankie Montas, to the hill to face the Tampa Bay Rays (4-2) at Tropicana Field. The A’s hoped to rebound from a loss Tuesday night to the Rays.

The A’s made three errors in that game, and A’s skipper Mark Kotsay wanted them to correct their ways. The Rays, winners of the AL East in 2019 and 2021, and playing the Dodgers in the World Series in 2020. The Rays, much like the A’s, are a small market team and do not draw well.

Their front office operates similar to the A’s. They do not have a huge payroll. They trade their expensive players for prospects. They develop pitchers as well as position players. Their young players include Brandon Lowe, Wander o, Rookie of the Year for 2021, and Randy Arozarena.

Add in Ji-Man Choi, Yandy Diaz, Manuel Margot, and Kevin Kiermaier, and one can see how the Rays have been built into a contender. Montas’ task was to shut down the Rays’ potent lineup. Frankie came through for his club.

He earned his first win of the season as he went six and one-third innings and allowed five hits and two runs. One of the runs was unearned. The A’s won the game 4-2 to even their record for 2021 at 3-3.

The A’s offense put three runs on the board in the top of the third. With one out, Rays’ starter Shane McClanahan walked Jed Lowrie and Stephen Piscotty. The next hitter, Sean Murphy, homered to put the A’s in the lead. For the third consecutive game, the A’s grabbed a 3-0 lead on the strength of a three-run dinger.

The Rays put a run on the board in the bottom of the fourth Rays first baseman Ji-Man Choi, a very hot hitter, hit a solo blast leading off the Rays’ half of the fourth. Montas settled down and retired the next three hitters.

The A’s added an insurance run in the top of the seventh. Shortstop Elvis Andrus continued his hot start with a double to left. Rays’ reliever Dusten Knight retired the next two hitters. A’s centerfielder, Cristian Pache, who came to Oakland from Atlanta in the trade for Matt Olson, singled to drive in Andrus with the A’s fourth run of the night.

Tampa scored an unearned run in their half of the seventh. Yandy Diaz led off the frame with a single. He went to second on an error by second baseman Sheldon Neuse. A’s manager Mark Kotsay brought in lefty Kirby Snead to pitch.

Snead gave up a hit to Rays catcher Francisco Mejia. Taylor Walls, pinch-running for Diaz, scored on the play. The A’s led 4-2 after seven.

Zach Jackson pitched a scoreless eighth for the A’s, and Lou Trivino shut the Rays down in the ninth to earn his first save of the year.

Game Notes- With the win, the A’s are 3-3. The A’s have earned at least a split of the four-game series. Game four will start at 10:10 am. Lefty Cole Irvin will go for Oakland, and the Rays’ have yet to announce their starting pitcher.

A’s catcher Sean Murphy hit his first home run of the year. He had 17 big flys last year. Montas is now 1-1 for the year.

The time of the game was three hours and one minute. Attendance at Tropicana Field continues to be dismal. Only 8954 people were on hand to see the A’s down the Rays.

Tampa Bay Rays’ Manuel Margot, center, is congratulated by teammates hitting an RBI walkoff single off Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Lou Trivino in the bottom of the tenth inning at Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay on Tue Apr 12, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Tampa Bay Rays (4-1) downed the Oakland A’s (2-3) 9-8 in ten innings Tuesday night at Tropicana Field. The game moved at the speed of a glacier as it took four hours and 13 minutes to play.

The game featured two pitchers making their Major League debuts. Neither pitcher fared well. Rays’ starter Tommy Romero went one and two-thirds innings. He allowed three runs, three hits, and walked five. The A’s starter, Adam Oller, lasted one and one-third innings. His line was five runs, five hits, three walks, and he gave up two home runs.

The A’s jumped off to an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first. Romero walked the first two batters he faced. A’s DH, Jed Lowrie, blasted his first homer of the year to make it 3-0. The Rays’ leadoff hitter, Brandon Lowe, homered to make it 3-1.

Tampa put four on the board in the bottom of the second. Rays’ catcher Mike Zunino doubled to start the rally. Zunino went to third on Oller’s throwing error. Second baseman Taylor Wall singled to drive in Zunino.

Brandon Lowe walked to put two men on with no out. Oller retired Wander Franco for the first out. Rays’ first baseman Ji-Man Choi put Oller’s pitch into the seats in right field to put the Rays ahead 5-3. Oller’s night was over.

In the bottom of the third, with Jacob Lemoine on the mound for Oakland, Brett Phillips sent Lemoine’s pitch into the stands to make it 6-3.

The A’s offense woke up from its slumber to put a run on the board. With two out and Seth Brown at second, Stephen Piscotty reached on an infield single. Brown, running hard, appeared to be thrown out at the plate. Rays’ catcher Mike Zunino had trouble holding onto the ball.

Brown slid in safely. The A’s trail 6-4. The Rays regained the three-run advantage in their half of the sixth. Wander Franco led off with a triple. Ji-Man Choi reached on an infield single. Franco was held at third. Unfortunately for the A’s, second baseman Tony Kemp could not handle Randy Arozarena’s ground ball. Kemp’s error allowed Franco to score. The score after six was 7-4 Rays.

The A’s refused to quit. With two out in the top of the seventh, the A’s plated three runs to tie the score. The fifth Rays’ pitcher of the night, Ralph Garza, walked Lowrie and Sean Murphy. Seth Brown singled to drive in Lowrie. Chad Pinder’s fly ball to rightfield went over Manuel Margot’s head and bounced up against the wall for a double. Murphy and Brown scored and tied the game at 7-7.

Neither team could score in the eighth or ninth innings. The game went into extra innings. The A’s scored a run to take the lead 8-7. Chad Pinder was the ghost runner at second base to start the tenth. A’s first baseman, Billy McKinney, singled to drive in Pinder.

The Rays’ Brandon Lowe was the ghost runner in the bottom of the tenth. Lou Trivino was now pitching for Oakland. Trivino had to face a tough customer in the person of Wander Franco. The young superstar doubled to drive in Lowe and tie the game.

Trivino retired Randy Arozarena for the first out. The A’s put Josh Lowe on first to set up a possible inning-ending double play. The strategy was for naught as Manuel Margot ended the game with a single to drive in Franco. The Rays win 9-8.

Game Notes- The A’s are 2-3 for the year with the loss. The Rays improved to 4-1. The A’s used eight pitchers, the Rays six. The Rays’ pitchers handed out nine free passes plus a hit batter. The A’s pitchers issued eight.

The line score for Oakland was eight runs, eight hits, and three errors. Tampa’s line was nine runs, 13 hits, and one error.

The time of the game was 4:17. Attendance was a paltry 7588 people in the stands. Neither team draws well at home.

Game three of the four-game series will start at 3:40m pm on Wednesday. Going for Oakland right hander Frankie Montas 0-1 ERA 9.00 for Tampa Bay Shane McClanahan 0-0 ERA 0.00.

Oakland Athletics’ Elvis Andrus (17) is congratulated by Tony Kemp (5) after belting a three home run in the second inning off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Chris Mazza at Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay on Mon Apr 11, 2022 (AP News photo)

A’s belt four homers pummel Rays in laugher 13-2

By Jerry Feitelberg

On Monday night, the Oakland A’s began a four-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field in St Petersburg. The Rays opened the season with three straight wins over the Baltimore Orioles. The A’s went 1-2 against the Philadelphia Phillies to start the season.

The Rays won 100 games last year. Their manager, Kevin Cash, was the AL Manager of the Year for the last two seasons. Under a new manager Mark Kotsay, the A’s were hoping to get a win to start the series.

Well, fans, the A’s did just that. They had their hitting shoes on as they put four runs on the board in the first and second innings and coasted to an easy 13-2 win over the Rays. The A’s hit four home runs in the game.

They had two three-run dingers, a solo blast, and a grand slam. Shortstop Elvis Andrus had a single, double, and a three-run homer. Andrus needed a triple to complete the cycle. Right-fielder Seth Brown also hit a three-run blast.

His big fly came in the first inning. Brown has seven RBIs in the first four games. Third baseman Sheldon Neuse (pronounced Noisy) hit his first home run of the year in the ninth. It was his first career grand slam.

The A’s put four runs on the board in the first inning. With one out, Elvis Andrus doubled. Rays’ pitcher Luis Patino retired Billy McKinney for the first out. Unfortunately for Patino, he hurt his leg on the pitch and had to leave the game.

He was replaced by Chris Mazza, a young man from Walnut Creek. Mazza hit Sean Murphy with a pitch to put two men on with two out. Seth Brown homered into the right-field seats to make it 3-0. Chad Pinder then homered to make it 4-0.

Things continued to go south for Chris Mazza. Neuse got things going with a single to start the rally. Rookie centerfielder, Cristian Pache, singled to put two men on with no out. Second baseman Tony Kemp’s grounder to Rays’ second baseman Taylor Walls was misplayed. Neuse scored to put the A’s ahead 5-0. Elvis Andrus homered to give the A’s a commanding 8-0 lead midway through the second inning.

Oakland put another run on the board in the fourth. Pache reached on a fielding error by Rays’ shortstop Wander France. Singles by Tony Kemp and Elvis Andrus loaded the bases for Oakland. Pache scored on Sean Murphy’s fielder’s choice.

The A’s starter, Paul Blackburn, held the Rays scoreless in his five innings of work. He allowed three hits and no runs. Blackburn walked one a struck out a career-high seven batters. He threw 71 pitches.

The Rays scored a run in the sixth and a run in the eighth to make it 9-2. The Rays used outfielder Brett Phillips to pitch in the eighth and ninth innings of the game. In the ninth, Phillips walked Billy McKinney to start the frame. He retires the next two hitters.

Chad Pinder doubles, sending McKinney to third. Phillips walked Stephen Vogt to load the bases. Phillips pitches were clocked at 49 miles an hour. Sheldon Neuse met the challenge and took a 49-mile-per-hour pitch on a journey into the left-field seats. The A’s won the game 13-2.

Game Notes: Paul Blackburn was the winning pitcher. Luis Patino took the loss for the Rays. The A’s evened their record at 2-2. The Rays are 3-1 for the season.

Sean Murphy hit the first triple of his career when Kevin Kiermaier, a three-time Gold Glover, misplayed the ball.

The A’s used four pitchers. Blackburn went five, Zach Jackson pitched the sixth, A.J.Puk worked the seventh and eighth, and Jason Grimm pitched the ninth. The Rays used six pitchers.

Game two of the four-game series will start at 3:40 PM Pacific Time on Tuesday evening. The A’s will send rookie Adam Oller to the hill, and Ray’s rookie Tommy Romero will oppose him. It will be the first time in MLB history that two pitchers will be making their MLB debut in the same game.

The time of the game was three hours exactly. Nine thousand one hundred thirty-nine fans watched as the A’s pounded the Rays 13-2.