Tampa Bay put this one away early and then had to survive a late scare. The Rays broke a scoreless tie in the second inning, piled on four more in the fourth, and carried an 8-2 cushion into the eighth before Oakland made things briefly interesting with a pair of home runs. It was enough. The Rays held on for an 8-4 win at Sutter Health Park.

The Game Network — Where History Is Kept
 123456789RHE
TB0214000108151
OAK002000020471

Liam Hicks was at the center of the decisive inning, finishing 3-for-5 with a double, a home run and 3 RBI. His two-run homer to right center in the fourth capped a four-run outburst that turned a two-run game into a five-run lead. Hicks scored once himself and provided the loudest swing of the night for Tampa Bay.

The Rays' fourth-inning surge began with Caminero singling home Díaz, and Hicks followed with his homer to bring in Aranda and Caminero, pushing the score to 7-2. That inning built on a lead Tampa Bay had established in the second, when Palacios' single drove in DeLuca to open the scoring, with Mullins later scoring on a fielding error by Perkins. Mullins also doubled home Caminero in the third. Tampa Bay tacked on a final run in the eighth when Díaz singled home Palacios.

Oakland chipped away but never got close enough. Cortes doubled home Gelof and Walton in the third to cut the deficit to 3-2, and in the eighth, Gelof and Butler each went deep — Gelof's homer traveling 388 feet and Butler's reaching 426 feet to center — but the pair of solo shots only trimmed the margin to 8-4. Starter Jack Perkins took the loss, allowing 7 runs (6 earned) on 12 hits over 5.0 innings, now 2-9 with a 7.27 ERA. Drew Rasmussen picked up the win for Tampa Bay, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits over 5.0 innings, improving to 12-5 with a 2.78 ERA.

The result extended Tampa Bay's winning streak to nine games as the Rays improved to 74-46. Oakland fell to 47-74, losing its third straight.

Full Box Score →