Recap: Oakland vs. Tampa Bay
Sports Network | August 14, 2008
Oakland, CA (Sports Network) - Ben Zobrist hit the go-ahead RBI double in the seventh and the Rays took the second test of their three-game series against the Athletics, 3-2, at McAfee Coliseum.
Andy Sonnanstine (12-6) threw his third consecutive quality start, throwing six innings on just two runs and six hits. He struck out six and walked one in the win. The Rays bullpen pitched three scoreless innings, including Troy Percival's 27th save of the season.
Eric Hinske finished the day 3-for-3 with a homer while Carlos Pena added another home run to give Tampa Bay its sixth win in eight games.
Justin Duchscherer (10-8) lost his third straight decision, and the team lost its sixth consecutive game in which the righty has pitched. He finished the day after 6 1/3 innings, giving up three runs on six hits while striking out a career-high eight and walking one.
Eric Patterson knocked in two runs after being called up earlier Wednesday from Triple-A Sacramento. Mark Ellis and Bobby Crosby added two hits apiece in the loss, Oakland's 13th in 15 games.
The Rays took the lead in the seventh. Hinske led off with a single, and two batters later Gabe Gross reached on an infield single, moving the runner to second.
Justin Ruggiano pinch-ran for Hinske, and Jerry Blevins came on in relief of Duchscherer. Zobrist was the first batter Blevins faced, and he laced a double down the left field line, scoring Ruggiano and giving Tampa Bay a 3-2 lead.
Jack Cust led off the Oakland ninth by drawing a walk. Rajai Davis came in to pinch-run and was quickly erased as he was gunned down attempting to steal second. Crosby popped out and after Emil Brown walked, Kurt Suzuki popped out to second to end the game.
Tampa Bay added home runs in both the first and second innings for an early 2-0 lead. Pena's 22nd homer of the year with two outs in the first accounted for the first run, and Hinske's 17th of the season to lead off the second provided the second run.
The Athletics came back to tie the game in the fifth. Crosby led off with a double, and Jack Hannahan singled to put runners on the corners. After Suzuki walked to load the bases, Patterson singled down the right field line to score Crosby and Hannahan, tying the game.
Tampa Bay leads the season series 5-3...Before the game the Athletics placed Ryan Sweeney on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right thumb. The team replaced Sweeney on the roster with Patterson...Oakland third baseman Eric Chavez had successful surgery to repair his right shoulder Wednesday. The six-time Gold Glove winner should make a full recovery after six months.
