The Athletics had the tying run in the air in the ninth, but Tampa Bay kept slamming the door and walked away with a 4-3 win Thursday afternoon.
It was the kind of game the A’s have been hanging around in all season: early damage from the other side, a quick answer, a late push, and just enough resistance to make the finish tense. But the Rays protected their one-run lead and kept the series from reaching a rubber match.
Brady Basso never really got settled. After retiring the first two batters of the bottom of the first, he gave up three straight doubles, and Tampa Bay was up 2-0 in a hurry. The Rays added two more runs in the second, building a four-run cushion before the A’s had even gotten comfortable.
Nick Martinez, meanwhile, came out sharp for Tampa Bay. He set down the first six hitters he faced and looked like he might cruise before the A’s finally cracked him in the third.
Tommy White, playing in his hometown, started the comeback with his third career homer. His solo shot barely cleared the left-field fence and got the A’s on the board. Then Henry Bolte, the other rookie making noise, followed with his 11th homer of the season, a solo drive to center that pulled Oakland within 4-2.
Basso managed to get through the early traffic in the third, but the game was turned over to Seth Johnson after he allowed the first two batters to reach. Johnson handled the situation well, striking out Jorge Mateo to leave the inherited runners stranded. He was even better after that, working 2 1/3 scoreless, hitless innings with four strikeouts.
The Rays took Martinez out after five innings, and it felt like a cautious move with the playoffs approaching. He had only thrown 72 pitches and allowed two runs, but Tampa Bay turned the game over to Kevin Kelly anyway. That opened the door for the A’s to keep pressing.
Jeff McNeil doubled to left as the first batter Kelly saw, and Shea Langeliers brought him home with an RBI single to center. Suddenly it was 4-3, and the A’s had life. Kelly answered by striking out the next three hitters and shutting down the rally before it could fully bloom.
Drew Rom made his first relief appearance since being recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas and worked the bottom of the sixth after giving up a leadoff double. He got two outs before Scott Blewett came in to finish the inning.
White wasn’t done, either. He finished with three hits and opened the seventh with his second single of the game, but Kelly again kept the Rays ahead. The A’s couldn’t cash in further, and the pressure kept building toward the final inning.
After Oakland came up empty against Cam Booser in the eighth, Blewett and Hogan Harris held it at one run going to the ninth. Harris also reached a notable workload mark, becoming the fourth A’s reliever since 2012 with at least 70 games pitched and 15 saves in a season.
That set the stage for Cole Sulser, who handled the save chance instead of All-Star closer Bryan Baker. Zack Gelof nearly changed everything with one swing, but his 407-foot flyout to center came up just short. Sulser then retired the side in order for his third save, and the Rays had another series win in hand.
For the A’s, it was a second straight one-run loss, and that hurts more after a homestand filled with close wins. Still, there were some positives buried in the defeat: the bullpen didn’t allow a run, Bolte kept his strong second half rolling, and White delivered in front of family and friends.
The A’s will try to avoid a season sweep Thursday afternoon. Left-hander Jeffrey Springs is expected to face his former team, while the Rays will go with right-hander Drew Rasmussen, who has paired with Martinez to form a tough top-of-the-rotation duo this season.
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Brady Basso is a central part of that equation, because the A's need him to work deep enough to keep the bullpen from getting stretched too soon. If he can hold the line through the middle innings, Oakland can preserve its relief options and give the offense a better chance to make the opener feel like an outlier instead of the tone-setter for the rest of the series. [Read more 🡒]
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There is still plenty of work ahead, especially with a new general manager expected to hunt for pitching help before the season ends. But a relief corps that can hold its own changes the calculus for a club in transition, and it gives Oakland at least one area where the talent base looks sturdier than it did a few months ago. [Read more 🡒]