After a lifeless loss the night prior, the Rays offense came out of the gates with plenty of life and set the tone early with a four run first inning. Those four runs would be all the support that Rays’ starter Drew Rasmussen would need and behind another strong start from the All-Star, the Rays cruised to an 8-2 win and series victory in Sacramento.
Opposite Rasmussen was A’s starter J.T. Ginn who fell victim to the first inning ambush and only lasted two innings. Ginn surrendered a leadoff single to Chandler Simpson, but settled in and quickly retired Yandy Diaz and Brandon Lowe. But, with two outs the flood gates opened and the Rays opened the scoring on a ground-rule RBI double by Josh Lowe. Caminero followed with a RBI double of his own, scoring Lowe. Mangum joined the party with a RBI single and later scored on throwing error by the catcher on a double steal. Over a four batter stretch, the Rays put up four two-out runs and took a 4-0 lead to the bottom of the first.
Rasmussen did what he has done all season and tossed a scoreless, shut-down first inning. Simpson again started things with a leadoff single in the second and this time Brandon Lowe drove him in with a massive two-run, opposite field blast to left center. The home run added to what has already been a fantastic trip out west for the All-Star second baseman. His 24th home run of the year and fifth of the trip sailed 458 feet and was the 150th of his career.
After allowing six runs on six hits, Ginn’s night was finished after just two innings. On the other hand, Rasmussen’s night was just getting started. While he did allow a solo-shot in the third to Lawrence Butler and an unearned run to cross the plate in the fifth following an error by Kim, Rasmussen was once again surgical for most of the night. Over six strong innings, he allowed just three hits, struck out five, and walked just one. He lowered his ERA to 2.60 and earned his 10th win of the season.
The A’s bullpen did its job and held the Rays’ offense scoreless until the ninth when Junior Caminero lofted a ball to left that snuck over the wall. The two-run home run extended the Rays lead to a comfortable six runs. Like Brandon Lowe, the West Coast has been kind to Caminero. The home run was his 34th of the year. On the night, he collected a pair of extra base hits and three more runs batted in, raising his total to 84. His OPS now sits at .832.
Baker, Jax, and Englert followed Rasmussen and faced just one batter over the minimum over the final three innings. The trio combine for eight punch outs and walked none.
This was a rather effortless victory and just the type that had eluded the Rays for the better part of a month. Three crooked frames and solid pitching all night long was enough to make this an easy win ahead of a three game set in San Francisco against a Giants team that has dropped 13 of their last 14 home games amidst a brutal stretch of baseball. The Rays are off Thursday, but Joe Boyle will toe the rubber on Friday night as the Rays look to build off of this series win.