SAN FRANCISCO — After all the pomp and circumstances of Opening Day went away, there was a game to be played and it did not take long for the Tampa Bay Rays to get on the board.
Ji-Man Choi doubled, and then Brandon Lowe drove in Choi with a double of his own for the only run that the Rays would need on their way to a 5-2 over the San Francisco before a sellout crowd of 41,067 at Oracle Park.
Following the Lowe double, the Rays began to show their muscles, as Yandy Diaz hit a two-run home run that broke his bat and then Kevin Kiermaier launched a solo home run into the center field bleachers.
After that rough first inning, Dereck Rodriguez settled down, as he went 5.1 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits, walking no one and striking out five, as his record fell to 1-1 on the young season.
Buster Posey singled to lead off the second inning, went to second, when Choi was unable to make the throw on a ball hit by Brandon Crawford, then after Rays starter Tyler Glasnow retired the next two, Joe Panik walked to load the bases; however, the attempt at a rally ended, when grounded to first to end the inning.
Glasnow went six innings, giving up zero runs on just three hits, walking just and striking out six, as he won for the second time in as many starts to begin the season.
The Rays stretched their up to 5-0 in the top of the seventh inning, as Michael Perez doubled and then after a throwing error by reliever Nick Vincent, Austin Meadows doubled in Perez.
Pablo Sandoval got the Giants on the board in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Pablo Sandoval doubled down the left field line off of Rays reliever Wilmer Font, who gave up a single to Kevin Pillar. It was the first hit as a member of the Giants for Pillar.
Steven Duggar then cut the Rays lead down to three, as he doubled to the left-center field gap to score Sandoval and put an end to Fonts afternoon.
Despite getting the tying run to the plate in bottom of the ninth inning, Brandon Belt struck out and then former Rays third baseman Evan Longoria flew out to Guillermo Heredia.
NOTES: Prior to the game, and during the game, the Giants paid tribute to beloved members of the Giants family who passed away during the off-season, including Hank Greenwald, Frank Robinson, Peter Magowan and Willie McCovey.
The team also honored the first responders of the California wildfires that destroyed many different parts of California this past fall and also remembered the people who perished in those fires.
This is the second year in a row that the Giants have opened the home slate against an American League team, as the Seattle Mariners defeated the Giants 6-4 to open the 2018 home season.
With the loss in the home opener, the Giants have lost back-to-back home openers for the first time since the 2007 and 2008 season, when they lost to the San Diego Padres 7-0 and then 8-4 the following season.
UP NEXT: Jeff Samardzija takes the mound on Saturday for the Giants, while the Rays starter is yet to be determined.
After opening the season with two series away from home, the Giants will make their home debut Friday afternoon when the Tampa Bay Rays visit Oracle Park.
The Rays enter this weekend series with a 5-2 record, but the Giants may have an answer for that. Dereck Rodriguez, who had a stellar rookie season in 2018, will take the ball Friday afternoon against Rays righty Tyler Glasnow.
Glasnow got his season started in the right direction when he beat the Astros, holding the vaunted Houston lineup to a run on six hits over five innings while earning the victory last Saturday. Rodriguez, meanwhile, got a win of his own against an upgraded San Diego Padres lineup, as he surrendered only a pair of runs on four hits, striking out two batters and walking none in five innings of work.
The Giants hope to pull things together at home after dropping the first two series of the season, taking only one of the four-game series with the Padres while winning one of the three-game series with the defending National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Rays, meanwhile, have two series wins against worthy opponents. They started the season by taking three of the four-game series with the Astros, who are only one year removed from their World Series title.
Tampa Bay then followed that up by taking three of four from the Colorado Rockies, who made a serious push for the playoffs last season.
The Giants and Rays will play all afternoon games this weekend, and the Giants hope to give their fans something to cheer about, starting Friday afternoon.
The A’s played it conventional with their pitching on Sunday, no surprise there. Trade acquisition Mike Fiers started five times in August, and twice so far in September, and the A’s won all seven, proving the old-fashioned, pitch deep into the ballgame starting pitcher still has a place among today’s compartmentalized baseball philosophies.
But Sunday wasn’t Fiers’ day, with the former Tiger slightly off his game while facing the red-hot Tampa Bay Rays, the A’s new dark horse competition for the final AL wild card spot.
“I felt like I couldn’t really get in a rhythm. I put the guys behind early and this game is big on momentum,” Fiers said.
Jed Lowrie’s fielding error stood out as the first blow to Fiers’ momentum, his bobble of Ji-Man Choi’s grounder screwed up what would of been an inning-ending double play. Instead, the next batter, C.J. Cron homered to give the Rays a 2-0, first inning lead.
Fiers walked three batters in the second, then escaped, via a double play and a groundout. In the fourth, Willy Adames homered to give Tampa Bay a 3-0 lead.
Fiers departed after four innings–his second shortest stint of his eight in Oakland–without any offensive support and destined for his first loss as an Athletic.
Meanwhile, the Rays went with their bullpen committee, and the combination of opener Diego Castillo, eventual winning pitcher Andrew Kittredge, Hunter Wood and Jaime Schultz were baffling to A’s hitters. That quartet pushed the Rays through the first seven innings, allowing two hits, the first coming with one out in the fifth inning.
“We called on some guys that hadn’t had a ton of work here recently and hadn’t pitched in tight situations recently, but they really did a nice job,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “It was fun to watch them how they really pieced it together.”
Emilio Pagan allowed a two-run triple to Brandon Lowe in the seventh, another blemish on the reliever’s string of recent, subpar appearances. That stood as a minor footnote with the A’s trailing 5-0, but quickly became a big deal when Khris Davis delivered a ninth inning, grand slam that brought the A’s within a run before reliever Sergio Romo retired two batters to end it.
Instead of a critical win on a day the Yankees lost, the A’s settled for a one-run loss, and a rare series loss. With 12 games remaining, the A’s lead Tampa Bay by seven games in the quest for the second wild card. But Houston’s lead in the AL West grew to 4 1/2 games, and they failed to move any closer to the Yankees, with their 1 1/2 game lead for the right to host the wild card showdown on October 3.
The A’s concluded play against the AL East with the loss, only their 11th loss versus that division this season. Five of those 11 losses came at the hands of the Rays.
The A’s open their final homestand of the season on Tuesday at 7:05pm. Liam Hendricks and Daniel Mengden are scheduled as the opener and featured reliever entrusted with getting the club through at least four innings. Tyler Skaggs wll start for the Angels.
Jake Bauers hit the game-winning 3-run home run for the Rays Photo: @RaysBaseball
By Charlie O. Mallonee
If the Tampa Bay Rays were in the National League, they would be in the fight for a spot in the Wild Card game. They are not a walkover team anymore. The Rays have an 81-66 record this season. Unfortunately for the Rays and their fans, they play in the American League East where the Boston Red Sox have clinched the division with a 102-47 record to date, and the Yankees are in second place with a 91-57 record.
The Rays brought their “A game” on Saturday night as they handed the A’s their second loss on this six-game road trip 7-5. The game featured 21 hits, 4 home runs, 14 runners left on base, 15 strikeouts and 12 pitching changes over 3 hours and 19 minutes.
The loss was very costly for the A’s in their chase for the AL West crown and the home field advantage in AL Wild Card Game. The Astros beat the D-Backs 10-4 on Saturday and increased their lead over the A’s to 3.5 games. The A’s elimination number is now 11.
The A’s (90-59) had the opportunity to move within a half-game of the Yanks for the top Wild Card slot because the Bombers lost to the Blue Jays 8-7 on Saturday. Because Oakland lost, they remain 1.5 games behind New York in the second Wild Card spot.
More Bullpening It was another bullpenning game for the A’s. Liam Hendriks was “the opener” on the mound for Oakland. He pitched one inning, allowing one hit and striking out one.
Dean Kiekhefer took over in the second inning and things did not go well for him. He gave up two runs (both earned) on three hits. The big blow came when Brandon Lowe hit a two-run homer with one on and no outs. Ryan Dull had to come in to close out the inning.
Chris Bassitt was the “featured pitcher” of the game. He worked 3.0 innings giving up one run (earned) off two hits. He struck out three Rays and walked two.
Yusmeiro Petit was the next man up. Petit gave up a run (earned) off one hit.
The brightest spot of the night for the A’s may have been the performance of reliever Fernando Rodney in the seventh inning of the game. Rodney has really struggled recently but not in this game. Rodney gave up no runs while he struck out one and walked one.
Jeurys Familia would have rather stayed in the hotel. Familia was brought in to pitch the eighth inning. He only gave up one hit, but it was a go-ahead three-run homer by Jake Bauers that ultimately proved to be the game-winning hit. Familia (8-6) was tagged with the loss.
A’s with the bat
Matt Chapman went 3-for-5 and hit his 23rd home run of the season in the ninth inning off Sergio Romo.
The other Matt (Olson) had a 2-for-3 night at the plate and he hit his 27th homer of the year in this game.
Marcus Semien had a 2-for-4 night including a run scored. He was also involved in an incident with the home plate umpire that eventually caused A’s manager Bob Melvin to get ejected.
Rays’ notes
The Rays Kevin Kiermaier hit a key triple in the game Photo: @RaysBaseball
The Rays went bullpening as well on Saturday. Ryne Stanek was the opener and then Yonny Chirinos was “the featured pitcher.” He lasted 5.1 innings.
Andrew Kittredge (2-2) was the eventual winner of the game.
Bauers not only hit a home run, he recorded four RBIs in the game.
Brandon Lowe had two RBIs, two runs scored in addition to his home run.
Kevin Kiermaier hit a triple and posted two RBIs
Up next
The A’s will send RHP Mike Fiers (12-6, 3.29 ERA) to the mound to face the Rays’ RHP Diego Castillo (3-2, 3.31 ERA) in the Sunday finale at 10:10 AM PDT.
Last night, the red-hot Oakland A’s were stunned as the lowly Baltimore Orioles snapped their six-game win streak with a 5-3 win.
So what’s new? Well, the A’s traveled to Tropicana Field to take on the Tampa Bay Rays for a three-game series starting Friday night.
The A’s broke open a scoreless deadlock in the top of the fourth inning. Matt Olson singled on a ground ball to Willy Adames. Matt Chapman scored on Olson’s play. As a result, Khris Davis went to second. The A’s were on the board 1-0.
The Rays, however, gave the A’s a hard time in the bottom of the fourth inning. Joey Wendle, a former Oakland Athletic, singled on a line drive to Mark Canha. Tommy Pham scored on Wendle’s play. The Rays tied the ballgame 1-1.
Shawn Kelley helped the A’s get out of a jam in the bottom of the sixth inning. The game remained in a 1-1 tie.
The 1-1 score continued to stay put and the game had to be decided in extra innings.
Khris Davis proved to be the difference as he homered on a fly ball to right center to give the A’s a 2-1 lead over the Rays in the top of the 10th inning.
16 home runs in the 7th inning or later this season.
A’s Blake Treinen (7-2) was the winning pitcher. Rays’ Jaime Schultz (2-1) took the loss.
Notes
Yesterday, a few of our prospects participating in the Fall Instructional League in the Dominican Republic visited a children’s center in La Victoria to pass out baseball equipment. The equipment was donated by the Lafayette, CA Little League. pic.twitter.com/gzk633a2ZS
OAKLAND — The Tampa Bay Rays edged the A’s 4-3 in the second game of the four-game series at Oakland Coliseum Tuesday night.
Rays’ starter, Blake Snell, improved his record to 7-3 as he baffled the A’s, allowing just one run, which was unearned, and two hits. He struck out seven.
A’s starter Daniel Gossett allowed three runs and eight hits. He was tagged with the loss. He gave up three consecutive home runs in the third inning.
The Rays scored three times in the third inning. Gossett struck out the first two hitters that he faced. The next three hitters, C.J. Cron (former A’s second baseman), Joey Wendle, and Rays’ catcher Wilson Ramos, all hit solo home runs.
It was the first time since August 1st, 2017 that the Rays hit back-to-back homers against the Houston Astros, and it was the first time since they hit three consecutive dingers in a game since September 21st, 2016 when they did it against the New York Yankees.
The A’s put one on the board in their half of the third. Catcher Bruce Maxwell reached on an error. Snell retired the next two hitters. Jed Lowrie, the designated hitter, doubled to left field to drive in Maxwell. The run was unearned. Rays lead 3-1 after three complete.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Rays’ pitcher Jamie Schultz made his Major League debut and had quite a debut as he struck out all the hitters he faced. Welcome to the Bigs, Rook!
The A’s had a chance to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth inning. Rays’ reliever, righty Chaz Roe, walked Marcus Semien to start the inning. The next batter, Matt Chapman, had a broken bat blooper that fell in safely in right field. Semien made it third, and Chapman reached second on Carlos Gomez’ throwing error. Roe struck out Lowrie and Mark Canha and retired Chad Pinder on a routine ground ball out. The Rays still lead 3-1 as the teams head into the ninth inning.
In the ninth, Rays’ shortstop, former A’s farmhand, Daniel Robertson clobbered his sixth dinger of the year to give Tampa Bay a 4-1 lead. The A’s rallied to score twice. Sergio Romo, who was a closer for the San Francisco Giants, was Ray.s manager Kevin Cash’s choice to finish the game. Matt Olson singled off Romo to start the rally. Stephen Piscotty doubled down the left field line to drive in Olson. Piscotty went to third on a ground ball out and scored on Bruce Maxwell’s ground ball to first base. Romo dodged a bullet when Marcus Semien hit a long fly ball that had the distance for a home run, but the ball went foul. Romo then retired Semien for the final out of the game.
Game Notes: With the loss, the A’s drop to 28-27 and the Rays improve to 27-26.
The Rays’ line was four runs, 10 hits, and two errors. All four of the Rays’ runs were the result of solo homers.
The A’s line was three runs, five hits, and one error.
Time of game was two hours and 55 minutes.
A very sparse crowd of 7,521 fans were on hand to see the A’s lose.
Up Next: Wednesday night’s game will feature the A’s big lefty Sean Manaea (5-5, 3.34 ERA) pitching for Oakland and righty Nathan Eovaldi going for the Rays. Manaea has been scuffling lately, and he will be hoping to return to the form that he showed earlier in the season. Game time is set for 7:05 pm PST.
OAKLAND — It was a sizzling, sun-drenched day in Oakland. The temperature at the start of the game was 78 degrees, and the 10,881 fans in attendance thought they might see a few home runs in the game. The ball usually carries well on hot days, but that did not happen as the A’s, and Rays’ pitchers were sensational. The Rays scored the winning run in the top of the 13th. The A’s had their chances,but could not get a hit with a runner in scoring position.
The A’s starter, Trevor Cahill, had his best game of the year. Cahill went eight innings, allowed just four, didn’t walk a batter, struck out six, and did not allow a run.
The Rays’ starter, Chris Archer pitched six scoreless innings, He kept the A’s scoreless and allowed just 4 hits, too. Both bullpens were terrific. The Rays were a wee bit better as they won the game 1-0.
The Rays scored the only run of the day in the top of the 13th. Chris Hatcher, the A’s fifth pitcher of the day, retired the first two hitters in the 13th. He then gave up singles to John Field, Jesus Sucre, and center fielder Mallex Smith. The Ray’s Ryne Stanek retired Matt Joyce for the first out. Marcus Semien walked. Jed Lowrie fouled out. Rays’ manager Kevin Cash made a pitching change. He brought in the lefty Jonny Venters to pitch to Matt Olson. Venters struck out Olson for the final out.
The A’s had men in scoring position in the fourth, sixth, and ninth innings but could not score. The A’s drop to 28-26 while Tampa Bay improves to 26-26.
The line score for the Rays was 1 run, 7 hits, and 1error. The A’s line was no runs, 7 hits, and no errors.
Chris Hatcher was the losing pitcher, and Ryne Stanek recorded the win.
Game 2 of the four-game series will be played Tuesday night at the Oakland Coliseum. Daniel Gossett (0-2, 6.28 ERA) will pitch for the A’s, and the Rays will send lefty Blake Snell (6-3, 2.78ERA) to the hill. Game time is at 7:05 pm PST.
Sonny Gray worked hard but could not come up with a win for the A’s on Saturday Photo: Kim Klement USA Today Sports
The Oakland Athletics and the Tampa Bay Rays honored the memory of the great Ernie Banks today by playing two the old fashion way. The teams played a true doubleheader where fans were able to watch two games for the price of one.
There are many baseball people who believe that having more doubleheaders would be beneficial for the game because it would help to shorten the season. Angels manager Mike Scioscia likes the idea of shortening the season to 154 games with one doubleheader per month scheduled for every team. “I would trade anything to get this game more seasonal and finish in October,” said Scioscia back in 2015.
Even if Major League Baseball decided to implement a schedule that included six doubleheaders per each season, most the twinbills would not be tradition two-for-one ticket games. In today’s sports economy, MLB owners would almost certainly insist on “day-night” doubleheaders where the stadiums are cleared and tickets must be purchased for each game.
So much for the romantic idea of returning to the days of Hall of Famer Ernie Banks and “Let’s play two!”.
Speaking of Mr. Cub – at the end of this story there will be an answer to a trivia question about playing two games on one day for you. How many doubleheaders did Ernie Banks play in both games of during his 19-year major league career?
Game One
The Rays wore throwback uniforms in game one. Those are truly forgettable outfits. Photo: Kim Klement USA Today Sports
The Rays used game one as a “throwback game” donning uniforms from their first year in Tampa Bay for the contest. The Athletics were looking to bounce back after 13-4 crushing loss that they suffered on Friday night.
Oakland entered the game with an 8-21 road record – the second worst in the major leagues. If the A’s are to ever even their record at .500 to have a chance making a run for a Wild Card spot, they have to start winning more games on the road.
That did not happen in game one on Saturday.
The A’s had their number one starter in Sonny Gray on the mound in the opening game. Gray went 6.0-innings giving up five runs but only two were earned due to two errors committed by the Athletics. Gray actually committed one of the errors himself on an errant throw to first base. The Rays collected nine hits off Gray while he struck out 10 and walked just one batter. He did not figure into the decision.
Erasmo Ramirez started for the Rays and he also struggled in his outing. He lasted 5.1-innings allowing three runs (all earned) on 10 hits. Ramirez struck out six and walked one. It was also a no-decision game for him.
Chad Pinder tags out Logan Morrison on a steal attempt. Photo: Kim Klement USA Today Sports
Even though they took a 3-0 lead in the top of the second, the A’s trailed the Rays 5-4 as they headed to the top of the ninth. Khris Davis led off the ninth by striking out. Yonder Alonso then hit his 11th double of the season off reliever Alex Colome. Rajai Davis came in as a Pinch-runner for Alonso. DH Ryon Healy hit a double (16) to left field that drove Davis home to tie the game at 5-5. The inning would end with the potential go ahead run in Healy stranded at third base.
Ryan Madson set the Rays down in order in the bottom of the ninth and it was on to extra innings.
Tampa Bay brought in reliever Austin Pruitt to face Oakland in the top of the 10th. He kept the A’s from scoring and the game remained tied as it went to the bottom of the 10th.
Liam Hendriks took the ball for the A’s and gave up a single to the Rays leadoff hitter – Peter Bourjos. With Evan Longoria at bat, Hendriks threw a wild pitch that moved Bourjos to second. Longoria then hit a single to left that drove Bourjos home to score the winning run. The Rays won the game 6-5.
The good news was the A’s had only 45 minutes to think about the loss because they would have been deeply distressed by some of the numbers. They committed two errors. Errors have been the bane of this team’s existence. The A’s had 16 hits to go with two walks and left 13 men of base. The loss dropped their road record to 8-22 for the year.
The good news was game two was less than hour away from first pitch.
Jaycob Brugman who was held hitless in his firs professional game on Friday night went 2-for-4 with a walk in this game. Joyce, Lowrie, Davis, Alonso and Healy also had a multi-hit games in the opener.
Game Two
Yonder Alonso continues to be hot with the bat Photo: Kim Klement USA Today Sports
The bad news was the A’s lost the first game. The good news was they had the very hot Sean Manaea on the mound for game number two. The key question was would the A’s be able to provide the run support Manaea would need win the game.
Manaea was definitely up to the task. He put in a quality start working 7.0-innings giving up two runs (both earned) on six hits (one home run). The lefty struck out five and walked just two Rays. Manaea earned the win and his record improved to 6-3 for 2017.
Manaea also received the run support that he needed. The A’s scored their first run in the first inning and they would never trail in the game. They scored another run in the second, one in the sixth, three in seventh and one more run in the ninth inning.
Ryon Healy hit his 14th home run of the year in Game 2 on Saturday Photo: Kim Klement USA Today Sports
Six of the Oakland batters had a multi-hit game. Yonder Alonso went 4-for-5 with run scored and an RBI in the game. Khris Davis was 3-for-5 with two runs scored. Ryon Healy went 2-for-5 hitting his 14th home run of the season to go with two runs scored. Chad Pinder had a 2-for-5 day with a home run (8). Josh Phegley also had a 2-for-5 game hitting his third home run of the season. Jaycob Brugman stayed hot as he went 2-for-3 with two RBI in game two.
The Rays scored two runs on six hits.
The A’s road record improved to 9-22. Oakland remains in last place in the American League West with a record of 27-35, 16.5 games back of Houston and two games back of fourth place Texas.
Up Next
The A’s and Rays wrap up the three day – four game series on Sunday. Jesse Hahn (2-4, 3.40) will start for Oakland while Tampa Bay will counter with Chris Archer (4-4, 3.65). The first pitch is scheduled for 10:10 a.m. PDT.
Oh yes, the answer to our Ernie Banks question
Mr. Cub will always look like this in my memories of him
Ernie Banks played in both games of 318 doubleheaders over 19-years in the major leagues. No wonder he said, “Let’s play two!”
AP photo: Oakland A’s pitcher Sonny Gray got lit up by the visiting Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night at the Oakland Coliseum here Gray delivers a pitch in the first inning
OAKLAND–The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the A’s 7-3 Thursday night at the Oakland Coliseum behind the strong pitching of lefty Matt Moore. The A’s Sonny Gray had another tough outing, and he absorbed his ninth loss of the season. A’s manager Bob Melvin said that Gray was tinkering with some of his pitches to regain his command. Melvin remarked that he feels Gray still has great “stuff” and that he is confident that he will regain the form that he had the last three years.
The Rays grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the first. Logan Forsythe singled to right leading off the game. He advanced to third on two successive ground outs. DH Corey Dickerson singled to drive in Forsythe. With two out in the second, the Rays first baseman Tim Beckham, hitting just .213, sent a Sonny Gray pitch into the seats in left field a for his fourth home run of the year. Rays lead 2-0 in the middle of the second. The A’s stormed back in their half of the inning. With two out and men on at first and second, Jake Smolinski hit his fifth dinger of the year to put Oakland in the lead 3-2. The ball hit the top of the fence and then bounced over. Had it bounced back to the field of ply, the umps may have ruled it a double.
Corey Dickerson tied the game at three with a leadoff opposite field solo home run. It was Dickerson’s fourteenth of the year. The Rays scored four runs on five hits in the top of the fifth to take a 7-3 lead. Five straight hits and a sac fly made life miserable for Gray in the fifth. The A’s failed to score in the bottom of the fifth and Sonny is done for the night. Sonny’s line for the night is five innings pitched, nine hits allowed, seven runs all earned.
Game Notes- The A’s are 4-3 since the All-Star break and fell to 7-10 in July. The A’s are now 42-54 for the season. The Rays improved to 38-57. Both teams are in last place in their respective divisions.
Sonny Gray is 4-9 for the year and 1-4 with a 4.86 ERA since coming off the DL on June 5th. Gray has won just one game since April 22nd. Jake Smolinski had the big knock of the night for Oakland when he hit a three-run dinger in the second inning.
The Rays have won three consecutive games for the first time since June 12-15. Matt Moore is 4-3 with a 2.68 ERA over his last eight starts.
Game two of the four-game series will be played Friday night in Oakland. Game time will be 7:05 PM. Lefty Sean Manaea will be on the hill for Oakland, and righty Jake Odorizzi will handle the pitching chores for Tampa Bay.
Time of game was two hours and forty-six minutes, and 14,412 fans watched the A’s go down to defeat.
Oakland Athletics third baseman Danny Valencia Photo Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
by Charlie O. Mallonee
The Oakland Athletics (16-22) closed out their nine-game road trip on a high note with a 7-6 win over the Tampa Bay Rays (16-19) on Sunday. The victory also gave the A’s the series win two games to one.
Trailing the Rays 6-5 with two out in the top of the ninth inning the Athletics played like a team that refused to lose. With two out, Billy Burns hit a 1-2 pitch into center field for a double. That brought Danny Valencia to the plate. Valencia had already hit two home runs in the game. Valencia hit the first pitch to him from reliever Steve Geltz over the left center field wall for a two-run home and gave the A’s a 7-6 lead.
Oakland closer Ryan Madson came on in the bottom of the ninth and needed just four ptiches to retire the side and preserve the win for the A’s. It was save number 10 of the season for Madson.
This is a significant win for the A’s for three reasons. First, they won a game on day when their pitching ace Sonny Gray did not have a great outing. Second, the A’s had to come from behind to win on Sunday proving to themselves they can fight their way back into games. Third, Oakland won a one-run game. For whatever reason, this is a team that finds itself in one-run games frequently. The Sunday win works as a reminder they can win those close game.
In the batter’s box
Danny Valencia was the man with the bat today for the Athletics. He hit three home runs on Sunday to bring his total to five for the series in Tampa Bay and for the season to date. Valencia drove in five runs and scored three. He hit in the number three spot Sunday as Josh Reddick was given the day off versus a left-handed starter.
Coco Crisp played center field and hit lead off Sunday. Crisp went 3-for-5 with one RBI and one run scored.
With Reddick given the day off, Billy Burns played right field. Burns went 1-for-5 with one run scored. That one hit was the double in the top of the ninth that kept the inning alive for Valencia to hit what became the game-winning home run.
Chris Coghlan was brought in to pinch hit for Tyler Ladendorf in the top the seventh inning. Coghlan took a 0-1 pitch over the left center field wall for his fifth home run of the year.
The A’s scored seven runs on 12 hits while leaving six men on base. They struck out eight times and walked twice.
Brandon Guyer was the leader at the plate for the Rays on Sunday. He had a lead off home run in the bottom of first inning off Sonny Gray to tie the game at 1-1. Guyer came to bat in the bottom of the second with two runners on when the inning was extended by a two-out error. Guyer hit the ball into the left field stands for a three-run home run. Guyer finished with five RBI on the day.
Evan Longoria went 2-for-4 for the game. Longoria hit his seventh home run and a double on Sunday.
The Rays scored six runs on six hits and left four runners on base. Rays batters struck out nine times and walked two times.
On the mound
A’s starter Sonny Gray had another tough outing on Sunday. Gray has not recorded a win in his last four starts. He had a no decision on Sunday. Gray worked 5.2-innings giving up six runs (three earned) on six hits. He struck out four and walked two. Gray gave up three home runs (Guyer 2, Longoria). He threw 99 pitches (67 strikes). Gray’s ERA now stands at 5.84.
The A’s bullpen came in and did the job for their team on Sunday. Ryan Dull relieved Gray in the sixth and worked 1.1-innings. Dull allowed no runs or hits. He struck out four and walked none.
John Axford pitched the eighth inning for Oakland. Axford gave up no runs, no hits, no walks and struck out one. Axford (3-1) is credited with the win as he was pitcher of record when the A’s scored in the top of the ninth.
Ryan Madson threw a perfect ninth inning needing just four pitches to retire the side. Madson now has 10 saves for the A’s.
Defense
The A’s were able to overcome a defensive miscue that took place in the bottom of the second inning. With two out and catcher Hank Conger at bat, the A’s defense went into a shift overloading the infield to the right. Second baseman Tyler Ladendorf was playing in shallow right field. Conger hit the ball to where the second baseman would normally be stationed. Ladendorf charged the ball and was unable to field it. Conger was safe. The next hitter Guyer hit a three-run home run. The error resulted in three unearned runs.
The A’s lead the American League in errors with 28.
Up next
The A’s return home to begin a three-game home series with the Texas Rangers on Monday night. LHP Derek Holland (3-2, 6.09) will start for Texas while the A’s will go with LHP Sean Manaea (0-1, 11.37).
On Tuesday, Texas will send LHP Cole Hamels to the mound to face the A’s LHP Eric Surkamp.
In the finale on Wednesday afternoon, LHP Martin Perez will start for the Rangers while LHP Rich Hill will take the hill for Oakland.
