Tampa Bay Rays crush Oakland Athletics 8-1 – MLB Update
Tampa Bay Rays thrashed the Oakland Athletics 8-1 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg Florida on Sunday, April 21 in the finale of their three match series of the 2013 Major League Baseball regular season.
Rays who were outclassed by the A’s in opener showed great fighting skills, determination and mental toughness in the finale to end the series on a bright note. A lot of credit should be given to Rays’ pitching rotation. It will not be wrong to say that
the pitchers executed their game plan to perfection to create all sorts of problems for Athletics’ batting lineup.
Starting pitcher Roberto Hernandez led from the front as he allowed just three hits and one run in six solid innings. Striking out batters at regular intervals, Hernandez did not let the A’s settle down even for a short while. Relief pitchers Jake McGee
and Brandon Gomes also played their part as they combined to pitch three scoreless innings and the Rays held on to their lead comfortably to secure another important victory.
"Good for him, man," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "I really think that's something for him to build off of. I'm sure the confidence needed a booster, and that's a booster shot right there."
"Wow! A long time," Hernandez said.
"It's about just keeping the guys ready, keeping the guys loose," Maddon said. "I want them to be prepared mentally, and not be exhausted mentally whenever they go out on the field. Things like that, I do things to break it up."
For the A’s, starter Tommy Milone paid the ultimate price for his errors on the mound, giving up eight hits and six runs in just six innings. It was Milone’s first loss of the season after posting three consecutive wins.
"I get in the middle of the game I sort of found it for a while," Milone said
Evan Longoria provided the Rays with the perfect start as he reached second base safely on a throwing error to put his side on the board. Kelly Johnson hit a sacrifice fly to centre and Ryan Roberts drove in vital runs to give Tampa Bay complete control
of the situation.
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