Tampa Bay Rays defeat Oakland Athletics 10-8 to avoid series sweep – MLB Update
After going down for three consecutive games, the Tampa Bay Rays made their way back with a strong performance to overpower the Oakland Athletics 10-8 at O.co Coliseum in Oakland on July 28 to avoid a humiliating series sweep.
Athletics started Thursday’s game with their same impetus and crashed five runs in the bottom of the first inning. Their starter Rich Harden also held the Rays scoreless in his first five innings to bring gloomy clouds over the Rays’ camp.
However, the Rays’ left-fielder Desmond Jennings launched a homer off Harden to take his club to a 5-2 situation. The Rays’ started their real destruction in the top of the seventh inning when Matt Joyce singled to set off a seven-run inning. Sean Rodriguez
and Evan Longoria scored an RBI single while Jennings and Damon each touched an RBI double to bring their club into a 9-5 winning state.
B.J. Upton then scored the tenth run in the top of the eighth inning. The A’s tried hard to get back in the game, as they added one run in the seventh, eighth and ninth inning but could only manage to reduce the lead to 10-8. It was the A’s 58th
loss after three consecutive wins over the Rays.
Rays’ starter Wade Davis expressed real command over the ball, as despite allowing five destructive runs in the first, he kept his control over the game and tossed five more innings without allowing even a single hit and punched out six batters to grab his
eighth win of the season.
"After the first I toned it down a bit," said Davis, who did not walk a batter for the second straight start. "I was really aggressive in the first inning and I was missing just by a little bit here and there. I just tried to keep the game there."
Rookie slugger Jennings scored a season-high four RBIs to help his club nip their losing streak.
"We knew Wade could pitch and all we had to score some runs," said Jennings. "We felt it was turning when we started to get base runners and walking. If you just keep getting on base something is going to happen."
Joel Peralta, Kyle Farnsworth and Jake McGee each allowed one run over their single inning spells.
Rich Harden scattered two runs over first six innings, but Craig Breslow and Brad Ziegler combined to give away six runs in less than an inning. Brian Fuentes and Trystan Magnuson both gave away one run. Michael Wuertz was the only A’s pitcher who did not
allow any run but he also yielded one hit in last inning.
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