Tuesday, 4 a.m.
For a night, at least, the offense was awake. For one game, the power was there.
How long it will last, nobody knows.
The Tampa Bay Rays, who have been one of the worst teams in baseball the last month and a half, erupted in a 7-4 victory over the Athletics.
Yeah, yeah, The Rays should have scored more given their 15 hits, their 10 men left on base and their three-for-13 average with runners in scoring position. The. Rays had a 6-1 lead before the A's got back into the game.
Except for wasted opportunities, however, it was hard to find a lot of fault with the Rays.
-- Junior Caminero hit his 33rd home run of the season. He had three hits in the game.
-- Chandler Simpson had three hits and stole his 33rd base.
-- Brandon Lowe had two hits and hit his 23rd home. Lowe and Caminero had back-to-back homers in the sixth.
-- Yandy Diaz had two hits.
-- New call-up Everson Pereira had two hits in his Rays' debut.
-- Catcher Nick Fortes drove in two runs with a second-inning single.
Pitcher Ryan Pepiot won his eighth game (nine losses) by going 6 1/3 and allowing four earned runs. His line would have looked better if he hadn't given up a three-run homer to Tyler Soderstrom in the seventh.
Pete Fairbanks worked a scoreless ninth for his 20th save.
The Rays and Athletics play again tonight at 10:05 p.m. Shane Baz will start for Tampa Bay against Jacob Lopez.