A's Drop Finale To Rays 8-2

Yahoo

2 days ago

Not a great way to end the series. The A's dropped their finale against Tampa Bay, getting hit in the teeth by the Rays in a 8-2 contest to wrap up the series with the Rays, who split the season-series with three wins and three losses apiece.
Rays ambush Ginn
On the mound for the Athletics this evening was rookie right-hander JT Ginn, who was making just his ninth start of the season (and 15th of his young career). Tonight was not his night. Tampa jumped all over Ginn right from the get-go, scoring four times in the first inning to jump out to an intimidating early lead. A pair of errors didn't help Ginn by any means but the Rays added on two more runs in the very next inning when second baseman Brandon Lowe hit a 2-run homer run. That extended the Tampa lead to 6-0 and the A's had only hit once. While he'd finish the frame, Ginn was done after just two innings, condemning the bullpen to a long night.
JT Ginn: 2 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 70 pitches
Not a great outing from the rookie righty. He was just not feeling himself this evening, and who could blame him? The rookie is pitching in a minor league stadium that acts as a bandbox and it was an extremely warm night where the ball was just flying off the bats, at least for the road team. Ginn just didn't show up ready for tonight's game, but hopefully he'll right the ship next time out. He's currently lined up to face the Twins exactly one week from tonight, though we'll see if he ends up making that start or if the club decides to turn to another arm.
A's stunted by Rasmussen
On the other side of things, Rays starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen, a Cy Young contender this year, was in absolute control of the game for his squad from the jump. Gifted a massive early lead, he sat down the first six batters he faced tonight before making a mistake to Lawrence Butler, who led off the bottom of the third going the other way for his 16th homer of the season:
He's now just 4 homers away from joining Nick Kurtz, Shea Langeliers, Brent Rooker, and Tyler Soderstrom as 20-homer hitters on the current club. That'd be the first time since 2019 when the club had six hitters cross that threshold. Nice little offensive core to build around right there, wouldn't you say?
That solo blast didn't open the flood gates like A's fans hoped. The club added on another run in the fifth off a Gio Urshela RBI single…
… but that would be all the scoring the Athletics could muster tonight. After the Urshela single the A's only collected one more hit the entire night, a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth off the bat of Tyler Soderstrom. He of course was stranded and the game ended with a strikeout of rookie outfielder Colby Thomas, the team's 13th punchout of the evening.
Bullpen gives a chance for a comeback
After Ginn's short start the A's needed to piece together seven more innings. Starter-turned-reliever Hogan Harris took over after Ginn and looked strong, tossing three innings while allowing just one run. Could he get a start or two here down the final stretch of the season? After Harris came scoreless appearances from Ben Bowden (1 IP), Michael Kelly (1 IP), Sean Newcomb (1 IP), and then rookie Elvis Alvarado allowed a pair of runs in the ninth to really put a stink on the final score for the A's. When all was said and done the A's had secured the series defeat and their 69th loss of the season.
Not a good game all around. Butler had a nice swing on a pitch from an ace-level pitcher. And the veteran Urshela still has something left in the tank. But Ginn was hit early and hit hard and didn't inspire much confidence going into his supposed next start. At least the bullpen held together for the most part!
We get an off-day tomorrow before picking up the homestand with three weekend games hosting the Los Angeles Angels for the final time in Sacramento this year. For Los Angeles, they'll go with lefty veteran Yusei Kikuchi for the series opener. He's posted a terrific 3.37 ERA across 25 starts this year, both of which lead the Halos' pitching staff. The A's meanwhile have yet to announce their starter so we'll keep you and the rest of our readers apprised on when we find out who will be taking the ball on Friday night.