Tuesday, 3 a.m.
When you start fast, sometimes no one notices how you finish.
Take the Tampa Bay Rays, who did all of their heavy lifting early in a 6-1 victory over the Oakland A's. The Rays got out of the box fast and then cruised to win in Oakland, a site that has been tough on them.
The Rays collected all 11 of their hits, and all six of their runs, in the first five innings Monday night.
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Starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen, too, was very good. He threw five innings and allowed just one hit to get his second win of the season.
Not to be outdone, four Rays' relievers shut out the A's over four innings and allowed just one hit, an infield grounder.
It was a welcomed sight after the Rays had been outscored 18-4 in back-to-back losses to Minnesota.
"We want to get back to playing our style of baseball," Rays' manager Kevin Cash said. "We’re not used to having lopsided games against us. Today was a good start to play good defense behind our pitcher and get some hits.
"We’ve got an offense we expect some big things from this year. Even though we’ve got some key guys out, we've got some key guys who are still in. We expect to have a thick lineup."
Monday night, the Rays did. Yandy Diaz' leadoff homer gave the Rays a 1-0 lead. Oakland tied it in the second, but from the third to the fifth innings, the Rays added five more runs.
The Rays play in Oakland again tonight at 9:40 p.m. Paul Blackburn will pitch for the A's. The Rays have not announced a starter.