Aug 20, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Christopher Morel (24) reacts after a called third strike with a man in scoring position against the Oakland Athletics during the sixth inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports The Tampa Bay Rays have just one run on five hits through the first two contests of their four-game series at Oakland.
The limited offense, however, has been good enough for Tampa Bay to earn a split heading into Wednesday night’s contest against the Athletics.
The Rays bounced back from getting two-hit in a 3-0 loss in Monday’s opener to post a 1-0 victory Tuesday.
Shane Baz threw a career-high 7 2/3 innings to earn his first win since July 3, 2022, at Toronto, and Jose Siri snapped an 0-for-21 drought with his 15th home run of the season.
It was the fourth win in five games for Tampa Bay, which scored 19 runs in a home sweep of Arizona before embarking on a 10-game trip that will include stops in Los Angeles (Dodgers) and Seattle.
Although Yandy Diaz had a double and single Tuesday, it was Baz’s pitching performance for his first win in eight starts since undergoing Tommy John surgery that was the talk of the locker room afterward.
“He had to be perfect today because their guy was really good on the other side,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said, referring to Oakland starter Joey Estes, who, like Baz, allowed only three hits over 7 2/3 innings. “There was no margin for error.”
Siri drilled an 0-1 fastball over the center-field fence with two outs in the eighth on Estes’ 94th and final pitch of the game.
“One mistake for Joey, really,” Oakland manager Mark Kotsay said. “A fastball he was trying to go away from Siri, and it leaked back over, which is the miss. Unfortunately, it resulted in the only run of the game. I thought Joey did a great job. … Our offense, when you don’t score, you don’t win.”
Right-hander Ryan Pepiot (6-5, 3.69 ERA) on Wednesday will make his second start for Tampa Bay since coming off the 15-day injured list with a knee infection. He will be opposed by rookie right-hander Mitch Spence (7-8, 4.64).
Pepiot is 0-0 with a 3.18 ERA in one career start against the A’s. That came on May 29 in St. Petersburg, Fla., a game in which he allowed two runs on three hits with seven strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings in a 4-3 Rays victory.
Pepiot comes in off a no-decision on Friday after allowing two unearned runs on five hits over 5 1/3 innings of his team’s 5-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. He walked one and struck out five in his first outing since going on the 15-day injured list on July 19 with a badly swollen knee from a likely spider bite.
“It was kind of a scary thing,” Pepiot told Bally Sports Florida. “I’ve had bug bites all the time, but never something that, like swelled up to where I couldn’t put any weight on my leg.”
Pepiot spent 60 hours in the hospital in getting the injury treated.
Spence is 0-2 with a 5.79 ERA in three starts in August and will face the Rays for the second time in his career. His first start against Tampa Bay was strong; he allowed just one hit and a walk over 5 1/3 scoreless innings while striking out four in a 3-0 victory on May 28 at Tropicana Field.
–Field Level Media
