The Oakland A’s wrapped up their 7-game stand with a 4-3 record after losing to the Rays 3-2 in today’s matinee. The Rays received a strong pitching performance from Matt Garza, who held the A’s to 1 run on 4 hits over 7.1 innings.
The A’s hung close behind Dallas Braden, but they were unable to make a sufficient dent in the Rays lead. The A’s were down 3-1 in the bottom of the ninth with two outs when Landon Powell lined a single up the middle. After pinch-runner Kurt Suzuki stole second uncontested, Gabe Gross hit a two-strike double down the right field line, scoring Suzuki. Rays closer Rafael Soriano struck out Cliff Pennington to end the game.
This series was really a microcosm of the A’s season. They won the first two games and looked like they might be able to gain some ground on the Rangers. Then, last night they dropped a late-inning heart-breaker on a night in which the Rangers also lost. They followed that up with a tough loss today to finish with the split, much like their .500 season has gone. The A’s have bounced around .500 for some time now and are back to 8 games out of first. After an off-day tomorrow, the A’s open up a 10-game road trip at Cleveland.