Joy, joy, the West Coast tour is drawing to a close! The Rays were looking to complete the series sweep against the A’s and finally return to a proper time zone. To get the job done, they had Drew Rasmussen on the mound, and he was squaring off against Jack Perkins for the A’s.
In the top of the first, Jonathan Aranda got a one-out walk, but was then eliminated in a force out off the bat of Junior Caminero. Liam Hicks doubled to put two runners in scoring position but the Rays were unable to bring either of them home. In the home half Tyler Soderstrom got a one-out double, but Rasmussen got the next two batters out in order to end the inning.
Jonny DeLuca got a leadoff double to start the second. Cedric Mullins followed with a single, then Richie Palacios singled to bring DeLuca home. A Taylor Walls sac bunt advanced the baserunners. Yandy Diaz then reached on a fielder’s choice and thanks to a fielding error from pitcher Perkins, Diaz was safe on first and Mullins scored. A double play ended the inning but the Rays were up by two runs.
Henry Bolte got a one-out walk in the bottom of the second, then stole second, which feels fitting for a guy named Bolte. Two outs followed, though, leaving the baserunner stranded.
Caminero and Hicks opened the third with back-to-back singles. Then with two outs there was a wild and wacky situation with a collision at home plate after Cedric Mullins doubled. Caminero scored, but Hicks was tagged out, and the out call was ultimately upheld for the final out of the inning after review.
With one out in the bottom half, Donovan Walton was hit by a pitch. Then, with two outs, Zack Gelof singled. Carlos Cortes then doubled to bring two runs in. A strikeout ended the inning but the A’s had pulled within one run.
In the fourth, with two outs, Yandy Diaz singled. Then Aranda singled. Then a Junior Caminero single brought in the fourth Rays’ run of the game. Hicks then homered, bringing in three more runs.
The A’s went 1-2-3 in the home half.
DeLuca doubled to start the fifth inning. The Rays weren’t able to bring him home, however. In the bottom of the inning Walton got a one-out single, but the A’s left him stranded.
Perkins was done after five innings, and was replaced by Drew Rom. Rom got the Rays out in order. Rasmussen was also done after five, with a final line of 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, on 84 pitches. A nice outing for him overall. Steven Matz replaced him. With two outs, Bolte reached on a fielding error by Walls. But ultimately it didn’t matter as Matz got the final out of the inning.
Scott Blewett was the new A’s pitcher for the seventh. With two outs, DeLuca singled. The next batter was out, though, so the Rays left one stranded. Casey Legumina came in from the Rays’ bullpen and gave up a leadoff walk to Tommy White. A strikeout and double play followed, keeping the Rays’ lead secured.
Hayden Juenger came in next for the A’s and gave up a leadoff walk to Richie Palacios. Walls followed that with a single. A Diaz single then scored Palacios and moved Walls up to third. A strikeout and a Caminero double play ended the inning, but the Rays had pushed their lead out more. The inning-by-inning bullpen shuffling continued as the Rays brought in Michael Grove. Gelof got a one-out solo home run. Then with two outs, Lawrence Butler hit a home run. Good thing the Rays had padded their lead somewhat.
Seth Johnson replaced Juenger. Victor Mesa Jr. got a one-out walk, then stole second. But two outs followed, despite a real effort from Cedric Mullins with a long ball that died just before the wall. The Rays weren’t able to extend their lead so they’d just need to protect it. Grove came back in for the ninth and got the side out in order with some assistance from his outfield, and the Rays officially went 9-0 for their road trip.
