OAKLAND, Calif. – Jose Siri hit a home run with two outs in the eighth inning to end a scoreless pitcher’s duel and give Shane Baz his first win in more than two years as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Oakland Athletics 1-0 on Tuesday night.
Baz (1-2) allowed three hits, struck out four times and allowed three walks in a personal-best 7 2/3 innings, earning his first win since July 3, 2022, in Toronto. The right-hander missed the 2023 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
“It’s tough,” Baz said of his return. “You have to take it day by day and just try to get better so that you give yourself the best chance of success when you come back. I’m definitely happy with that.”
Siri’s solo drive to center for his 15th home run caught the eye of Oakland starter Joey Estes (5-6), who stubbornly fought off Baz as the A’s drew 4,377 fans after being scoreless in two of their last three games.
Edwin Uceta made the final four outs, ending the 1 hour and 54 minute game and earning his first career save.
Baz was very happy for catcher Rob Brantly, who made his first Major League appearance since playing a game for the Yankees on May 22, 2022.
They had previously worked together at Triple-A Durham, which had a calming effect on both of them.
“That was really cool, that’s special,” said manager Kevin Cash. “It’s really hard to get a shutout and we just got a shutout with Edwin Uceta and Brantly certainly played a big role in that. I’m so happy for Brant that he had the right hands and the guys agreed with what he was calling.”
Estes had five strikeouts and allowed one run on three hits while pitching 7 2/3 innings.
Oakland’s starters have allowed just two runs in their last four games. The A’s have lost just three times in their last nine games.
The Rays were on a 10-game road trip, their longest of the year, and rebounded after losing the series opener 3-0 on Monday, ending their three-game winning streak.
TRAINING ROOM
Rays: RHP Ryan Pepiot will make his second start Wednesday since returning from a spider bite and subsequent knee infection that required hospitalization. “He showed us in his last outing that he’s really good, a good five or more, no matter what he was,” Cash said. “Pretty dominant. We’re really happy with the way he threw the ball and excited to see the second one back from his injury.”
Athletics: LHP Scott Alexander was placed on the 15-day injured list retroactive to Sunday because of rotator cuff tendinitis in his throwing shoulder. … The A’s filled his spot by selecting RHP JT Ginn from Triple-A Las Vegas.
Next
Pepiot (6-5, 3.69 ERA) makes his 19th start of 2024 against A’s RHP Mitch Spence (7-8, 4.64), who is trying to end a three-start winless streak in which he is 0-2.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
