After whisking aside the Houston Astros last weekend, the Tampa Bay Rays will try to move to 6-0 on their nine-game homestand Thursday afternoon and lock down their majors-best 16th sweep when they face the Athletics in St. Petersburg, Fla.
In the second game of the three-game series on Wednesday, the Rays scored four runs in the first two innings and held on for a 4-3 victory. Tampa Bay (92-59) logged its third straight series win and increased its American League East lead to 4 1/2 games over the New York Yankees (88-64).
The Rays moved to a season-high 33 games above .500 and improved to 24-14 in one-run games.
While leadoff hitter Yandy Diaz has seen his average drop to .297, Chandler Simpson had two hits and bumped his average to .3098, barely behind the Houston Astros’ Yordan Alvarez (.3100) for the AL lead.
“We’ve got two elite batting-average hitters,” manager Kevin Cash said. “Yandy is going through it right now. Chandler is on the other side picking up hits left and right.”
Tampa Bay’s Jonny DeLuca drove in the game’s first run, increasing his career-high RBI total to 44.
Drew Rasmussen, part of the rotation’s powerful 1-2 punch along with Nick Martinez, will start the series finale in his second outing against the A’s this season.
Rasmussen (14-5, 2.81 ERA) earned a win with five innings of two-run ball in West Sacramento, Calif., on Aug. 12. In his career against the Athletics, he is 4-0 with a 2.67 ERA in six games (five starts).
The right-hander has not received a decision in his two September starts, a pair of seven-inning, one-run outings.
The A’s (61-91) watched their relievers combine for 5 1/3 scoreless innings on Wednesday.
“The bullpen was really the story,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “I thought we threw the ball great — the whole bullpen — tonight to give us a chance.”
The Athletics’ Jeffrey Springs (4-13, 5.93 ERA) will get the ball on Thursday. The left-hander looked to have it figured out when he arrived for the Rays in 2021 after two seasons with the Texas Rangers and one with the Boston Red Sox. He pitched in relief for Tampa Bay and then was transformed into a starter.
Springs made 25 starts and eight relief appearances in 2022 and finished 9-5 with a 2.46 ERA and 1.07 WHIP, numbers that made the move to the rotation seem like an immediate success.
He was overpowering at the beginning of the following season, going 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA in three starts, before he had to undergo Tommy John surgery.
The Rays used him sparingly in 2024 before trading him to the A’s in a five-player deal in December 2024.
After notching wins in three of his first four starts this season, the 33-year-old North Carolina native lost 13 consecutive decisions in a brutal 21-start stretch from April 19 to Aug. 30.
However, he broke that streak with seven innings of two-hit, shutout ball against the host Seattle Mariners on Sept. 5.
“It’s been a trying season for him in all facets really, whether it’s health or just performance,” manager Mark Kotsay said after Springs’ skid-ending victory. “He’s been grinding really hard. He’s a guy with a lot of pride.
“I thought his changeup was excellent tonight. That was the key.”
The next time out, Springs threw five innings of two-run ball in a no-decision against the Mariners on Friday.
Against the Rays, Springs is 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA in two starts and five relief appearances.
–Field Level Media
