Hot sluggers Brandon Lowe and Junior Caminero each bashed two-run homers and Drew Rasmussen pitched six strong innings to help the Tampa Bay Rays post an 8-2 victory over the Athletics on Wednesday night at West Sacramento, Calif.
Caminero was one of four Rays with two hits and he also had three RBIs and two runs as the Rays took two of three in the series with the Athletics. Chandler Simpson added two hits and two runs while Yandy Diaz and Ha-Seong Kim also had two hits for Tampa Bay, which won for just the seventh time in the past 23 games.
Lawrence Butler homered for the Athletics, who lost for just the seventh time in the past 19 games.
Rasmussen (10-5) allowed two runs (one earned) and three hits over six innings. He struck out five and walked none while winning his fourth straight decision.
J.T. Ginn (2-5) threw 70 pitches while lasting just two innings for the Athletics. He gave up six runs (five earned), six hits, one walk and struck out three.
The Rays sent nine batters to the plate in the first inning and scored four two-out runs as Ginn needed 40 pitches to get out of the frame.
Simpson was on third base with two outs when Josh Lowe ripped a shot just inside the right-field line. The ball boy gloved the ball and tossed it over the netting and the umpiring crew declared it a ground-rule double.
Caminero followed with a run-scoring double, and Jake Mangum added an RBI single to make it 3-0.
Hunter Feduccia walked to put runners on first and second. The Rays then worked a double steal and the throw to third by Shea Langeliers went into left field as Mangum scored and Feduccia ended up at third.
Ginn tossed 30 pitches in a second inning that began with Simpson’s infield single. Brandon Lowe then feasted on a full-count changeup and sent it 458 feet over the fence in center to make it 6-0.
It was the 150th career homer for Lowe, who has five blasts over the past eight games.
Butler led off the third with a homer to left-center to get the A’s on the board.
Gio Urshela had an RBI single with one out in the fifth to cut the Athletics’ deficit to 6-2.
Diaz singled with one out in the ninth and the A’s failed to turn a double play on Josh Lowe’s grounder. Caminero made them pay with a two-run blast to left off Elvis Alvarado. The homer was Caminero’s sixth in his last seven games.
–Field Level Media
