TAMPA The Rays, who have produced runs in a number of ways this season, lost 6-4 to the Athletics on Monday night after squandering a chance to win a rally in the eighth inning.
Tampa Bay had lost three of its previous four games.
Drew Rasmussen had an unusually short start, but the bullpen kept the Rays in the game.
Novices Edwin Uceta and Garrett Cleavinger combined to shut out the A’s in the following three innings after Paul Gervase and Mason Montgomery helped the Rays get through the fourth and fifth innings.
When closer Pete Fairbanks gave up two singles and a triple to the first four players he faced in the ninth inning, that came to an end.
Only one of the four Tampa Bay hitters who reached the plate had been retired by the A’s only minutes before, yet they managed to get away with it without giving up a run.
Chandler Simpson, a pinch runner, swiped second after Yandy Diaz led off with an infield single. Junior Caminero was brought to the plate by purposefully walking pinch hitter Brandon Lowe.
Max Muncy, who hurried to the bag for the force-out after Caminero hit a strong grounder to him, then threw to first base to catch the slow-moving Caminero. Josh Lowe lined a single to left with B-Lowe at second base.
The ball was aggressively charged by rookie Colby Thomas, who made his major-league debut earlier in the top of the inning as a pinch hitter. Thomas grabbed the ball on a short hop and threw B-Lowe out at the plate.
Jacob Lopez made a strong case for the Rays’ mistake in bringing Joe Boyle to Tampa Bay in the summer by incorporating him in a trade with Jeffrey Springs during the opening several innings. After 36 pitches, Lopez retired the first 10 batters.
When Curtis Mead drew a one-out walk in the fourth, that run came to an end quite calmly.
The silence that ensued was anything but.
Caminero reduced the lead to 4-2 with a home run to deep center that was 425 feet long. Following this, Jonathan Aranda, Jake Mangum, and Christopher Morel all singled for runs in quick succession.
Mangum broke early trying to steal third base, which accelerated Lopez’s breakdown. Mangum threw wildly to second base, but Lopez turned and looked like he had him picked off. Jose Caballero’s bunt single gave Mangum the tying run as he moved to third.
Rasmussen had his worst start of the season going into the game, with an ERA of 2.45, eighth in the American League. He gave up a double to Brent Rooker and a walk to Nick Kurtz after recording two fast outs in the first.
When Shea Langeliers hit a 96-mph sinker 408 feet for a home run four pitches later, the Rays were behind 3-0.
With three straight singles to drive in another run in the third, Rasmussen, who had pitched into the fifth inning in all 16 of his 2025 outings, found himself in danger once more. When Caminero initiated a double play that ended the inning, he finally got away.
The Rays decided to stop the right-hander after three innings and fifty-four pitches because they were aware of Rasmussen’s workload following his third major elbow surgery.
