OAKLAND, Calif. — Shea Langeliers hit a three-run double in the fifth inning to break up a scoreless game, and the Oakland A’s won their season-high sixth straight with a 4-3 victory against the major league-leading Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night.
Ryan Noda added an RBI single in the fifth for the big league-worst A’s, finally riding some momentum after a weekend sweep in Milwaukee. James Kaprielian (2-6) pitched six solid innings, allowing three runs and five hits to win his second consecutive start.
Jose Siri hit a three-run shot in the sixth for Tampa Bay’s 113th homer of the year to match the idle Dodgers for most in the majors.
Oakland (18-50) loaded the bases with none out in the fifth against Zach Eflin (8-2) with two straight walks and Jace Peterson’s single. One out later, Langeliers delivered.
Eflin had won four straight decisions since a loss May 9 at Baltimore. The right-hander failed to last five innings for the first time in 13 starts.
Rays third baseman Isaac Paredes was ejected by plate umpire Manny Gonzalez in the sixth, apparently upset about a called strike.
“It just looked like he was frustrated by the pitch. Look, all of our guys work so hard,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “We try to put pressure on them to make sure that they stay in the zone, but one of those close pitches, he didn’t like it and I guess he expressed that.”
Tampa Bay (48-21), which began its first West Coast trip of the year, had won eight of nine overall.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rays: SS Wander Franco had the night off until pinch-hitting for Paredes in the sixth. “A big part of our success is that he’s been on the field a lot this year, and we’re going to do everything to keep it that way,” Cash said. ... RHP Pete Fairbanks (left hip inflammation) threw a hitless inning for the FCL Rays with two strikeouts against the Red Sox in what was likely his lone rehab appearance.
UP NEXT
LHP Hogan Harris (1-0, 6.46 ERA) will make his second career start Tuesday night for the A’s after earning his first major league win last Wednesday at Pittsburgh. Tampa Bay had yet to announce its starter.