Martinez Tribune The website of the Martinez Tribune.
BY DANIEL GLUSKOTER
Tampa Bay rode five innings of shut out relief from their bullpen to make Mike Brosseau’s sixth inning home run hold up as the Rays rallied for a 4-3 win over the A’s Sunday afternoon to salvage the final game of their three-game weekend series at the Coliseum.
Oakland jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the fourth on back-to-back RBI singles by Stephen Piscotty and Mitch Moreland, the latter driving in a pair of runs. But Tampa Bay would finally get to A’s starter Cole Irvin, who had only allowed a single baserunner through four innings, in the fifth.
Tampa Bay’s Mike Brosseau watches the flight of his sixth inning home run against the A’s Sunday afternoon at the Coliseum. The blast, along with a three-run homer by Willy Adames an inning earlier, proved decisive as the Rays salvaged the final game of the three game series with a 4-3 win.
After a Sean Murphy error and a Joey Wendle double put runners on second and third for Tampa Bay, a three-run homer by Willy Adames tied the score. An inning later, Brosseau ripped an Irvin (3-4, 3.29) pitch over the fence in deep left center field to put the Rays up 4-3 and set the stage for their talented relief corps to record the final 12 outs of the game for Tampa Bay.
The game ended a grueling stretch of 17 games in 17 consecutive days for Oakland. The A’s finished 9–8, good enough to establish a two game lead over the Houston Astros as they prepare to hit the road for a six game trip sandwiched by days off at both the start and finish.
The A’s will now travel cross country to face off in a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox. The rejuvenated Red Sox currently hold the best record in the majors at 23-13. Chris Bassitt (2-2, 3.70) is scheduled to take the mound against Boston’s Nathan Eovaldi (4-2, 4.62) in the opener Tuesday night at 4:10 PM.
GAME NOTES:
Sunday’s game marked the final game of the season series between the two teams with the A’s taking the series 4-3.
Jed Lowrie entered the game leading the Majors with a .500 average with runners in scoring position, and tied for the lead in multi-hit games with 13.
Seth Brown’s five home runs is tied for the lead among AL rookies.
Sunday was the 11th anniversary of Dallas Braden’s Mother’s Day perfect game against Tampa Bay.
