Rays Win Series, Fall Short Of Sweep
The Oakland Athletics avoided the four-game sweep defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 on Thursday afternoon.
Daniel Mengden (6-4, 2.91 ERA) handcuffed the Rays allowing three earned runs in eight innings on six hits while striking out five and walking two. Blake Treinen entered the game to record the final out picking up his 13th save on the season. The victory improves the A’s record to 29-28.
Ryne Stanek (1-1, 4.66 ERA) took the loss after getting his second start of the season. He was charged with a pair of runs in 1.1-innings of work. The loss ends the Rays five game winning streak. Despite the loss they are 12-5 over their past 17 games.
Ryan Yarbrough entered the game with runners on first and second in the second. He struck out Bruce Maxwell before allowing a 2-RBI double to Stephen Piscotty and a RBI single to Mark Canha.
Yarbrough settled in after the second and held Oakland scoreless until the seventh. Facing the heart of the A’s order for the third time he allowed a pair of solo homers to Matt Olson and Matt Chapman as the A’s extended the lead to 5-0.
Oakland added a pair of runs in the eighth inning off Vidal Nuno to extend the lead to 7-0.
Rays Keep Fighting:Â
Tampa Bay rallied for three runs in the ninth and had two runners on base when the final out was recorded. The inning featured a RBI double by Wilson Ramos and a 2-RBI double by Christian Arroyo.
Ramos’ double extended his batting streak to 11 straight games. He’s batting .425 (17-for-40) during his current streak. Joey Wendle had three hits to extend his batting streak to seven straight games. He’s batting .375 (9-for-24) during his streak.
Up Next For Rays:
The Rays continue their West Coast swing heading to Seattle to take on the Mariners for three over the weekend. Sergio Romo (1-1, 6.33 ERA) will serve as the “opener” for the Rays. The Mariners counter with Mike Leake (5-3, 4.93 ERA).
