Wednesday, 4 a.m.
If you were holding out for a hero, his was perhaps the last name you would guess.
Jose Siri, benched and belittled in recent days, hit an eighth-inning home run with two out to lift the Rays to a 1-0 victory over the Oakland A’s. Siri hadn’t had a hit in eight games, and he was hitting just .127 over the previous 28 days. He was 0-for-his-last 21 before he hit the homer.
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It was bad enough that Siri had lost playing time due to a lack of hustle, but Siri’s play didn’t argue that he be rushed back into the lineup.
Tuesday night, however, he launched a 1-1 pitch 425 feet for the only run of the game. Both the Rays and A’s had just three hits.
The Rays got a terrific starting effort from Shane Baz, who won his first game in 779 days. Baz went 7 2/3 innings of shutout baseball. Edwin Uceta got the final four outs of the night for his first save.
Tampa Bay had just three hits, after getting just two the night before. They’re 0-for-eight with runners in scoring position for the series. Yandy Diaz had the other two Rays’ hits.
It was okay because of Baz, who had lost 3-2 games in three of his previous four starts. He was in control throughout the game. He barely posted outdueld Oakland’s Joey Estes.
The Rays and A’s play again tonight at 9:40 p.m. Ryan Pepiot will start for the Rays against Mitch Spence.