Rays Vs. A's: Tampa Bay Falls 4-2, Loses Hold Of Top AL Wild Card Spot

The Tampa Bay Rays lost to the Oakland Athletics 4-2 this afternoon at Tropicana Field in a game that would have given them the lead in the American League Wild Card standings.

The winning pitcher was Oakland’s Brandon McCarthy, who pitched 7 innings, giving up four hits and two earned runs. Jeremy Hellickson earned the loss for the Rays after giving up four earned runs over 5 innings. Grant Balfour earned the save for Oakland.

The Rays struggled at the batter’s box on the afternoon with Tampa’s two runs coming off of a solo Desmond Jennings home run in the fifth and a Jose Lobaton sacrifice fly in the second, which scored Luke Scott.

Oakland, on the other hand, jumped out to a 3-0 lead after a hot first inning. Seth Smith scored on a solo home run in the third to extend the Oakland lead.

On Monday, the Rays play the AL West-leading Texas Rangers in Arlington at 8:05 ET.

Rays vs. Athletics: Lineups For Saturday's Finale

The Tampa Bay Rays are hoping to wrest a three-game series from the Oakland Athletics today after dropping a close one on Friday night 5-4. The two teams are closing out the series on a Saturday afternoon - a pretty rare occurrence in MLB scheduling.

Tampa Bay Rays lineup:

01. Desmond Jennings, LF
02. Sam Fuld, CF
03. Matt Joyce, RF
04. Evan Longoria, 3B
05. Ben Zobrist, SS
06. Luke Scott, DH
07. Carlos Pena, 1B
08. Ryan Roberts, 2B
09. Jose Lobaton, C

The Rays are sending out Jeremy Hellickson (8-8, 3.28 ERA) who is looking to continue off of two strong starts. In his past two starts, Hellickson is 1-1 with 14 IP, two earned runs and seven strikeouts. The hard luck loss came against the Mariners in which he went seven innings and gave up one run.

Oakland Athletics lineup:

01. Coco Crisp, CF
02. Stephen Drew, SS
03. Yoenis Cespedes, LF
04. Seth Smith, DH
05. Chris Carter, 1B
06. Josh Reddick, RF
07. Josh Donaldson, 3B
08. George Kottaras, C
09. Cliff Pennington, 2B

The A's are sending out Brandon McCarthy (6-5, 3.16 ERA) who got battered around by the Minnesota Twins in his last start. He hopes to rebound from a poor effort in which McCarthy only lasted 3.1 IP while giving up 10 hits and six runs in the process.

For more on the Rays go visit DRaysBay as well as SB Nation Tampa Bay, and go check out Athletics Nation and SB Nation Bay Area for everything on the A's. Also check out Baseball Nation for even more news and notes from around the Majors.

Rays Vs. A's Game Preview, TV Info And More

The Oakland Athletics took Game 2 of the potential Wild Card one-game playoff preview with the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 Friday night. They look to edge even closer to the front-running Rays Saturday afternoon, when they send Brandon McCarthy to mound at Tropicana Field.

Tampa Bay (70-56) counters with Jeremy Hellickson in the rare Saturday series finale ahead of an equally rare Sunday off. The Rays took Game 1 of the 3-game set Thursday night and are 1 1/2 games ahead of second-place Oakland and the Baltimore Orioles for the top Wild Card spot. Two Wild Card teams will play a one-game playoff this season for the first time.

The Rays would like to skip that elimination game altogether and catch the New York Yankees in the East. They're currently 3 1/2 behind New York.

Here's the broadcast information for today's game:

Date/Time: Friday, Aug. 25, 1:10 p.m. ET

Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Fla.

TV: Sun Sports, MLB.tv

Probable Starters: Oakland - Brandon McCarthy (6-5, 3.16 ERA) vs. Tampa Bay - Jeremy Hellickson (8-8, 3.28 ERA)

For more on the Rays go visit DRaysBay as well as SB Nation Tampa Bay, and go check out Athletics Nation and SB Nation Bay Area for everything on the A's. Also check outBaseball Nation for even more news and notes from around the Majors.

Rays Vs. Athletics Final Score: Tampa Bay Falls To A's 5-4 In Game 2

The Tampa Bay Rays lost 5-4 to the Oakland Athletics Friday night, dropping a close game when former Rays player Jonny Gomes hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning to put the A's ahead and a ninth inning rally came up short.

The game was tight until the eighth, with the two teams trading the lead all night. Tampa Bay took an early 1-0 lead in the second on a solo home run from Ben Zobrist, but Oakland scored two in the fourth. The Rays tied it at two in the bottom of the fourth on a Jeff Keppinger sacrifice fly, then added a run in the fifth on a B.J. Upton double to take the lead. The A's answered with a run to tie it at three in the seventh, then Gomes added two in the eighth and the Rays were unable to recover. They scored one in the ninth on a pinch hit double by Luke Scott, but the rally ended there.

With the loss the Rays fall 3.5 games behind the Yankees in the AL East, and Tampa Bay, Oakland and Baltimore are all tied for the two Wild Card spots. Joel Peralta picks up the loss for the team, falling to 1-6. The three game series is now tied 1-1, with the rubber game scheduled for Saturday at 1:10 p.m. ET.

Stick with this StoryStream for previews, scores and more from the Tampa Bay Rays vs. Oakland Athletics series. For all things Rays, head over to DRays Bay.

Rays Vs. Athletics: Lineups For Friday's Game 2

The Tampa Bay Rays have posted their lineup for Game 2 of their three game series with the Oakland Athletics, where they look to keep things rolling and follow Thursday night's 5-0 victory with another win. Matt Moore will take the hill for the Rays, facing Jarrod Parker for Oakland.

The Rays lineup:

1. Desmond Jennings (R) LF

2. B.J. Upton (R) CF

3. Matt Joyce (L) RF

4. Evan Longoria (R) DH

5. Ben Zobrist (S) SS

6. Jeff Keppinger (R) 3B

7. Carlos Pena (L) 1B

8. Ryan Roberts (R) 2B

9. Jose Molina (R) C

P. Matt Moore (L)

The Athletics Lineup:

1. Coco Crisp (S) CF

2. Stephen Drew (L) SS

3. Yoenis Cespedes (R) LF

4. Chris Carter (R) 1B

5. Jonny Gomes (R) DH

6. Josh Donaldson (R) 3B

7. Derek Norris (R) C

8. Brandon Moss (L) RF

9. Adam Rosales (R) 2B

P. Jarrod Parker (R)

Stick with this StoryStream for scores, news updates and more from the Rays vs. Athletics series. For all things Rays, check out DRays Bay.

Rays Vs. A's: Game Preview, TV And More

The Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays, two teams in the thick of the American League Wild Card race, square off for the second in a three-game series Friday as the Rays send Matt Moore to the mound to take on Oakland.

The Rays stayed hot against the A's on Thursday night, shutting down the Oakland offense and taking advantage of A's pitching, roughing up Oakland starter Tyson Ross for five runs and nine hits in six innings. Rays starter Alex Cobb went the distance for Tampa Bay on Thursday, throwing nine shutout innings for the Rays, and giving their bullpen a nice rest.

Moore will be matched by A's starter Jarrod Parker, who was dominant in his last start against Cleveland, going eight innings and giving up no runs on six hits and two strikeouts.

Date/Time: Friday, Aug. 24, 7:10 p.m. ET

Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Fla.

TV: Sun Sports, MLB.tv

Radio: WDAE 620 AM

For more Rays baseball visit DRaysBay and SB Nation Tampa Bay.

Rays Vs. Athletics: Tampa Bay And Oakland Announce Thursday Lineups

The Tampa Bay Rays closed out their series against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday with a 5-3 victory. The win moves them just three games back in the AL East behind the first place New York Yankees.

The Rays have won seven of their last 10 games but face a tough task from the visiting Oakland A's, who come in winners of six of their last 10 and are five games back of the AL West-leading Texas Rangers. Both these teams will battle it out over the next three days for sole possession of the AL Wild Card.

The Rays and A's have released their lineups for the series opener. First, the visitors from Oakland:

1. Coco Crisp (S) CF
2. Stephen Drew (L) SS
3. Josh Reddick (L) RF
4. Yoenis Cespedes (R) LF
5. Chris Carter (R) 1B
6. Seth Smith (L) DH
7. Josh Donaldson (R) 3B
8. Derek Norris (R) C
9. Cliff Pennington (S) 2B

And now, the lineups for Tampa Bay:

1. Sam Fuld (L) LF
2. B.J. Upton (R) CF
3. Matt Joyce (L) RF
4. Evan Longoria (R) 3B
5. Ben Zobrist (S) SS
6. Jeff Keppinger (R) 1B
7. Luke Scott (L) DH
8. Ryan Roberts (R) 2B
9. Jose Molina (R) C

The starting pitcher for the Oakland A's will be Tyson Ross, while the starter on the hill for the Rays will be Alex Cobb. First pitch from Tropicana Field will be at 7:10 p.m. ET.

For more on the Rays go visit DRaysBay as well as SB Nation Tampa Bay, and go check out Athletics Nation and SB Nation Bay Area for everything on the A's. Also check outBaseball Nation for even more news and notes from around the Majors.

A's Vs. Rays Preview: Time, TV, Radio Info And More

The Rays and Athletics are starting a three-game series, and the winner of this set will take possession of the top Wild Card spot.