SB Nation Tampa Bay - Rays Edge A's 3-2 To Earn Series Splithttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49019/tb-fave.png2010-08-22T19:24:42-04:00http://tampabay.sbnation.com/rss/stream/13972762010-08-22T19:24:42-04:002010-08-22T19:24:42-04:00Rays Have Just Enough To Hold Off A's 3-2 In Series Finale
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<p>Oakland, CA (Sports Network) – Evan Longoria’s two-run double supported Matt Garza’s solid outing as Tampa Bay clipped Oakland, 3-2, in the finale of a four-game set.
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<p>Kelly Shoppach drove in the other run for the Rays, who won the final two tilts and have taken four of six overall. Tampa Bay remained one game behind the Yankees in the AL East.</p>
<p>Garza (13-7) went 7 2/3 innings for the win, scattering four hits and one run with three walks, three strikeouts, and one key balk. Joaquin Benoit recorded the final out of the eighth and Rafael Soriano allowed a run in the ninth but notched his 37th save.</p>
<p>Gabe Gross’ ninth-inning <span class="caps">RBI</span> double closed the gap to one but wasn’t enough for the Athletics, who have lost two in a row after winning four straight.</p>
<p>Dallas Braden (8-9) pitched well in defeat, allowing three runs on four hits over six full frames.</p>
<p>Longoria’s two-run double down the line in left in the sixth inning put Tampa ahead 3-1. Jason Bartlett walked and Carl Crawford singled in advance of the hit.</p>
<p>Garza built on that lead by sending down seven of the next eight batters he faced. Daric Barton walked with one out in the eighth, then after Mark Ellis lined out Benoit came on to strike out Jack Cust.</p>
<p>Soriano let up a two-out single from Landon Powell, and his pinch-runner Kurt Suzuki moved to second on indifference before coming home on Gross’ double. Cliff Pennington then fanned swinging to end the game.</p>
<p>Shoppach’s <span class="caps">RBI</span> double in the third got the Rays on the board before the A’s tied the game in the fifth on a bizarre play.</p>
<p>With the bases loaded and one out, Garza had stepped off the mound in an attempt to call over Shoppach and Coco Crisp at the plate. The move was called a balk, forcing in Powell.</p>
<p>Game Notes</p>
<p>Tampa Bay won five of nine from the A’s in the season series, but won just three of seven in Oakland…Prior to the game, the Athletics reinstated pitcher Andrew Bailey from the 15-day disabled list and optioned pitcher Ross Wolf to Triple-A Sacramento…The Rays head to Anaheim for three starting Monday and the A’s are in Cleveland on Tuesday.</p>
<p>08/22 19:09:41 ET</p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2010/8/22/1636695/rays-have-just-enough-to-hold-offClark Brooks2010-08-22T02:54:39-04:002010-08-22T02:54:39-04:00Rodriguez Homer Rally Caps 5-4 Win
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<p>Oakland, CA (Sports Network) – Sean Rodriguez hit a go-ahead, game-winning two-run homer with two outs in the eighth, and the Tampa Bay Rays slipped past the Oakland A’s, 5-4, in the third of four games at Oakland Coliseum.
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<p>Rodriguez’s eighth home run of the season lifted the Rays to their sixth win in eight games, although it was just their first victory in this series. Evan Longoria also added a home run in the win.</p>
<p>David Price was pedestrian in his search of win No. 16, allowing four runs on six hits and a walk while fanning five in six innings. Randy Choate (3-3) earned the win for a scoreless inning, and Rafael Soriano picked up his 36th save.</p>
<p>The Rays remained one game behind New York in the AL East after the Yankees beat Seattle earlier Saturday.</p>
<p>Mark Ellis had two hits and two <span class="caps">RBI</span> for the A’s, who had a four-game win streak snapped. Daric Barton went 3-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored in defeat.</p>
<p>Brett Anderson was in line for the win, throwing Oakland’s record-14th straight quality start. In addition, he lasted seven innings — marking the 20th consecutive game in which the A’s starter has pitched six innings — and allowed two runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out eight.</p>
<p>Craig Breslow (4-4) took the loss for giving up three runs in two-thirds of an inning.</p>
<p>After the Rays tied the game in the top of the sixth, the A’s went back in front in the home half.</p>
<p>Barton worked a leadoff walk, and Kurt Suzuki followed with a sharp lineout to third. On the play, Longoria tried to throw Barton out retreating to first, but the throw went awry, allowing Barton to take second.</p>
<p>Two batters later, with two outs, Ellis doubled to center to plate Barton, and Rajai Davis followed with an <span class="caps">RBI</span> single for a 4-2 game.</p>
<p>After Anderson pitched a scoreless seventh, Breslow came on for the eighth. Carlos Pena walked with one away, and, two batters later, Willy Aybar sent an <span class="caps">RBI</span> double to the gap in right-center. Rodriguez followed with a blast over the wall in center to put the Rays ahead, 5-4.</p>
<p>After Choate gave up a leadoff single in the eighth, Chad Qualls retired three straight batters to maintain the one-run lead. Soriano threw a perfect ninth to polish off the win.</p>
<p>The Athletics got started with two runs in the opening inning.</p>
<p>Price quickly loaded the bases with nobody out after a pair of singles and a hat batsman. Kevin Kouzmanoff opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly, and Ellis followed with an <span class="caps">RBI</span> single.</p>
<p>Longoria had an answer right away for Tampa Bay, blasting a leadoff homer in the second to cut the Rays’ deficit in half.</p>
<p>The pitchers took control until the sixth, when the visitors tied the game. Carl Crawford led off the inning with a single, went to third on a Pena double and scored on Ben Zobrist’s sacrifice fly for a 2-2 game.</p>
<p>Game Notes</p>
<p>The 13-game quality start streak for the A’s ran from August 4-17, 1980. The team record for consecutive six-inning starts is 25…The Rays are 28-13 when a lefty starts for the opposing team.</p>
<p>08/22 00:25:44 ET</p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2010/8/22/1635920/rodriguez-homer-rally-caps-5-4-winClark Brooks2010-08-21T09:04:27-04:002010-08-21T09:04:27-04:00A's Rally Late To Beat Rays Again
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<p>Oakland, CA (Sports Network) – Kevin Kouzmanoff scored the go-ahead run on an error in the eighth inning, helping the Oakland Athletics come back for a 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in the second of four games at Oakland Coliseum.
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<p>Kouzmanoff finished 2-for-4, while Jack Cust added his ninth home run of the season for the A’s, who moved back over .500 with their fourth straight win. Cliff Pennington added two hits, while Daric Barton drove in two in the victory.</p>
<p>Vin Mazzaro lasted 6 1/3 frames, allowing three runs — one earned — on three hits and four walks while fanning five. Henry Rodriguez (1-0) received the win for a perfect eighth, and Craig Breslow notched his second save with a flawless ninth.</p>
<p>“I think we’re showing the league we can play with anybody,” Breslow said. “We can definitely pitch with anybody, our defense keeps us in games and we scored some crucial runs. Not at a win counts anymore in the standings that it did two months ago, but it’s good to be playing pretty good baseball this time of the year.”</p>
<p>Ben Zobrist homered for the Rays, but also committed the error that allowed Kouzmanoff to score, as Tampa Bay remained one game behind the Yankees in the AL East after New York was blanked by Seattle. Matt Joyce drove in two runs in defeat, the Rays’ second straight after a five-game win streak.</p>
<p>“It’s interesting how quickly you can be humbled,” Zobrist said. “It’s a good reminder and a learning experience.”</p>
<p>Jeremy Hellickson, making his fourth big league start, was bidding to become the first pitcher to begin his career with four straight wins since Cleveland’s Scott Lewis in 2008. Instead, he got the no-decision after yielding three runs, seven hits and a walk while fanning seven in 6 1/3 innings.</p>
<p>Hellickson did, however, extend his own record, becoming the first pitcher since 1900 to notch a quality start in each of his first four major league starts.</p>
<p>Joaquin Benoit (0-2) took the loss for allowing the tying and go-ahead runs in the eighth.</p>
<p>Trailing by one entering the bottom of the eighth, the A’s went ahead with some clutch hitting and some bad Tampa Bay fielding.</p>
<p>Cust worked a leadoff walk off Benoit and was replaced by pinch-runner Gabe Gross, who moved to third on Kouzmanoff’s single. Rajai Davis tied the game with a sacrifice fly that moved Kouzmanoff to third with one out.</p>
<p>Benoit nearly got out of the jam after striking out Travis Buck, but he walked pinch-hitter Mark Ellis, which caused Tampa Bay to insert Lance Cormier to pitch. Cormier induced a seemingly harmless ground ball to the second baseman Zobrist, who bobbled the ball and made a late throw to first, allowing Kouzmanoff to score the go-ahead run.</p>
<p>Tampa Bay went down in order in the ninth to end the game.</p>
<p>The Rays used the help of two errors to score twice in the first. Zobrist reached with one out on a misplay by the second baseman Steve Tolleson and moved to second on a throwing error by Mazzaro. Carl Crawford followed with an infield single and stole second, preceding Carlos Pena’s two-out walk to load the bases.</p>
<p>Joyce laced a single to center to plate two runners for the early lead.</p>
<p>In the second, B.J. Upton worked a leadoff walk, moved to third on a Jason Bartlett double and scored on John Jaso’s sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.</p>
<p>The A’s, though, fought back. Pennington doubled with one down in the third, and Coco Crisp followed with an infield single. The two executed a double steal to move to second and third, and both scored on Barton’s single to center.</p>
<p>After Cust tied the game with a leadoff homer in the sixth, Zobrist gave the Rays the lead once again with a two-out shot to left in the seventh.</p>
<p>Hellickson exited in the seventh after two Athletics reached base with one out, but Randy Choate and Benoit each retired a batter to get the Rays out of the jam with the lead.</p>
<p>Game Notes</p>
<p>The Rays fell to 3-16 on Friday and have lost 14 of their last 15 on Friday…The A’s lead the season series, 4-3, having won the last four in a row between the teams…With the win, Oakland clinched at least a tie in this series, its seventh straight home set without a loss…The Rays have lost six of eight on the road, but still have a 35-24 record away from Tropicana Field…A’s starters have gone six or more innings in 19 straight starts and have 13 straight quality starts — tying a team record set in 1980.</p>
<p>08/21 03:11:50 ET</p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2010/8/21/1634788/as-rally-late-to-beat-rays-againClark Brooks2010-08-20T10:28:18-04:002010-08-20T10:28:18-04:00Rays At A's: Hellickson Vs. Mazzaro
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<h3>Current Series</h3>
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<h4>Athletics lead the series 1-0</h4>
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<td class="td-first">Thu 08/19</td>
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WP: Trevor Cahill (13 - 5) <br>SV: Jerry Blevins <br>LP: Dan Wheeler (2 - 1) <br>
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<td class="td-last"><span>3 - 4 loss</span></td>
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<p class="game-title"><a href="https://www.draysbay.com/">Tampa Bay Rays</a> <span class="blog-hover-link" id="blog_icon_215028469"><a href="http://www.draysbay.com/"><img src="http://cdn0.sbnation.com/images/icons/red-star.v2202714.png" class="sbnstar"></a><span class="blog-hover-menu" id="blog_icon_215028469_menu" style="display:none"><span class="img"><a href="http://www.draysbay.com/"><img src="http://cdn2.sbnation.com/community_logos/2780/dray2-small.png" alt="Dray2-small"></a></span><span><a href="http://www.draysbay.com/">DRaysBay</a></span></span></span> <br><span>@ <a href="https://www.athleticsnation.com/">Oakland Athletics</a> <span class="blog-hover-link" id="blog_icon_1268155234"><a href="http://www.athleticsnation.com/"><img src="http://cdn0.sbnation.com/images/icons/red-star.v2202714.png" class="sbnstar"></a><span class="blog-hover-menu" id="blog_icon_1268155234_menu" style="display:none"><span class="img"><a href="http://www.athleticsnation.com/"><img src="http://cdn1.sbnation.com/community_logos/7/athleticsnation_m.gif" alt="Athleticsnation_m"></a></span><span><a href="http://www.athleticsnation.com/">Athletics Nation</a></span></span></span> </span></p>
<p class="game-info"><span>Friday, Aug 20, 2010, 10:05 PM EDT</span><br>Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum<br>
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<p class="pitchers"><span>Jeremy Hellickson</span> vs <span>Vin Mazzaro</span></p>
<p class="weather">Partly cloudy. Winds blowing out to right field at 5-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 75.</p>
<p class="foot clearfix"><span class="link-more"><span>Complete Coverage ></span></span></p>
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<td class="td-first">Sat 08/21</td>
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<td class="td-first">Sun 08/22</td>
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https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2010/8/20/1633264/rays-at-as-hellickson-vs-mazzaroGregg Burrage2010-08-20T10:21:21-04:002010-08-20T10:21:21-04:00Athletics Win By A Hair
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<p>Oakland, CA (Sports Network) – Cliff Pennington’s two-run double in the bottom of the sixth was the difference, as the Oakland Athletics edged Tampa Bay, 4-3, in the opener of a four-game series at the Coliseum.</p>
<p>Kurt Suzuki and Rajai Davis both added a run-scoring groundout for Oakland, which has won three straight after losing four in a row.</p>
<p>Trevor Cahill (13-5) gave up three runs over eight solid innings for the Athletics. The right-hander did allow seven hits, ending his streak of 20 consecutive starts with six hits or fewer and at least five innings pitched. He had matched the modern major league record set by Nolan Ryan, who established the mark from July 27, 1972 to April 18, 1973 while a member of the California Angels.</p>
<p>Carlos Pena blasted a two-run homer and Evan Longoria added a solo blast for the Rays, who had a five-game winning streak halted and fell one game behind New York for first place in the American League East. The Yankees beat Detroit earlier Thursday.</p>
<p>Tampa Bay’s Andy Sonnanstine did not figure in the decision after yielding three runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings.</p>
<p>“It’s more disappointing on a team standpoint. I thought we had a good shot to win that game,” Sonnanstine said.</p>
<p>Longoria’s one-out blast in the top of the sixth put the Rays up 3-1, but Oakland rallied in the bottom of the inning.</p>
<p>Suzuki led off with a walk and Jack Cust followed with a single. One out later, Dan Wheeler (2-1) replaced Sonnanstine and walked Kevin Kouzmanoff to load the bases, setting up Davis’ run-producing grounder. Pennington then ripped a double to right field to give the A’s the lead.</p>
<p>Jerry Blevins tossed a 1-2-3 ninth to record the first save of his career.</p>
<p>“You want to shut the door for the team,” Blevins said. “They played unbelievable defense. Trevor’s been outstanding all year. It’s nice to get him another win.”</p>
<p>Oakland scratched out a run in the first on Suzuki’s ground ball, but Pena’s team-leading 24th home run of the season put Tampa Bay in front in the fourth.</p>
<p><strong>Game Notes</strong></p>
<p>Tampa Bay center fielder B.J. Upton singled in the seventh to extend his hitting streak to 10 games, matching a career high…Oakland finished 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position…The Rays fell to 14-7 against teams from the AL West.</p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2010/8/20/1633254/athletics-win-by-a-hairGregg Burrage2010-08-20T10:18:27-04:002010-08-20T10:18:27-04:00Tampa Bay Rays At Oakland A's: A Four Game Series
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<div class="SNtitle">(Sports Network) - The <a href="https://www.draysbay.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Tampa Bay Rays</a> try to maintain pace in the AL East with a four-game series against the <a href="https://www.athleticsnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Oakland Athletics</a> at the Coliseum.</div>
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<p>That may be easier said than done, though, as the Rays will be facing one of the best young pitchers in the league in right-hander <span>Trevor Cahill</span>, who comes into tonight's tilt sporting the second lowest earned run average in the American League at 2.50.</p>
<p>Cahill, though, had a three-start winning streak stopped his last time out, despite a terrific performance against Minnesota, as he allowed just a run and six hits in seven innings of a 2-0 loss to fall to 12-5 on the year.</p>
<p>The Rays also got the better of the 22-year-old hurler the last time they faced him back in April of last season when they pounded Cahill for seven runs and eight hits in just 2 2/3 frames.</p>
<p>Tampa enters tonight's tilt tied atop the American league East standings with the <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">New York Yankees</a> following a three-game sweep over the American League West-leading <a href="https://www.lonestarball.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Texas Rangers</a>.</p>
<p>The Rays completed the sweep on Wednesday, as <span>Evan Longoria</span> went 3-for-4 with a solo homer, two run-scoring doubles and knocked in four runs, helping Tampa to an 8-6 win at Tropicana Field.</p>
<p><span>B.J. Upton</span> finished with two hits, including a solo shot, and stole two bases for Tampa Bay, which has won seven of nine.</p>
<p>"I think we all feed off each other," Upton said. "It could be anybody in the lineup. Once we start things, the other guys jump on and it kind of all filters together."</p>
<p><span>James Shields</span> (11-11) snapped a two-start skid after working seven solid innings. The right-hander allowed two runs -- one earned -- on four hits, struck out six and walked one. <span>Rafael Soriano</span> retired the final two hitters in the ninth to earn his 35th save of the season.</p>
<p>Getting the call for Tampa will be righty <span>Andy Sonnanstine</span>, who will be making his third start of the season. Sonnanstine picked up the win on Saturday against the <a href="https://www.camdenchat.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Baltimore Orioles</a>, as he allowed three runs and three hits in five innings. He is 1-1 as a starter and is 3-1 overall on the year with a 4.10 ERA.</p>
<p>Sonnanstine has faced the A's seven times (five starts) and is 2-3 against them with a 6.29 ERA.</p>
<p>The 27-year-old righty will be facing an A's team that just took two of three from the <a href="https://www.bluebirdbanter.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Toronto Blue Jays</a>, including a thrilling 5-4 win in the rubber match of their set on Wednesday.</p>
<p>After blowing a three-run ninth inning lead, <span>Cliff Pennington</span> singled home the winning run in the bottom of the ninth to lift Oakland to just its second win in six games.</p>
<p>Tampa Bay has won three of its five matchups with the A's this season.</p>
https://tampabay.sbnation.com/2010/8/20/2319614/tampa-bay-rays-at-oakland-as-a-four-game-seriesGregg Burrage