OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Pinch-hitter Carlos Pérez broke a tie with an RBI groundout in the eighth inning and the Oakland Athletics beat the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1 on Tuesday night.
The loss dropped the Rays to 48-22.
With the game tied at 1, Ramón Laureano singled off Colin Poche (4-2) to lead off the eighth inning. Laureano advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jonah Bride and then stole third.
Pérez hit for Seth Brown and sent a sharp grounder to third, off the glove of a diving Isaac Paredes, who recovered to throw Pérez out at first, but Laureano scored the go-ahead run.
Rooker had an RBI double in the seventh to tie the game for Oakland.
Hogan Harris (2-0) pitched seven stellar innings, allowing one run on four hits with two strikeouts.
“That’s got to be the best that young man has thrown the baseball,” Kotsay said. “It was a Hogan Harris night, really.”
Trevor May earned his third save in five chances as Oakland’s bullpen recorded a save for the sixth consecutive game.
Manuel Margot drove in Tampa Bay’s run on an RBI single in the fifth.
Poche gave up one run in his lone inning.
Both teams used openers. A’s right-hander Shintaro Fujinami pitched a scoreless first inning while Rays lefty Jalen Beeks handled the first 1 2/3 frames.
“We just couldn’t get much going,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Their pitchers did a really good job. Harris came in after Fujinami and really threw the ball well.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rays: RHP Pete Fairbanks (left hip inflammation) is nearing a return from the 15-day injured list. Cash said Fairbanks would likely join the team Wednesday in Oakland and could be reinstated soon after. “I think it’s really close,” Cash said.
ROSTER MOVE
The Rays signed RHP Erasmo Ramírez to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Durham. Ramírez was released by the Nationals on Thursday after going 2-3 with a 6.33 ERA in 27 innings this season.
UP NEXT
RHP Tyler Glasnow (1-0, 2.87 ERA) makes his fourth start of the season Wednesday night for Tampa Bay. Glasnow has allowed just one run in each of his last two outings. Oakland counters with rookie RHP Luis Medina (1-5, 7.53), coming off his first career win Friday at Milwaukee.