ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — One night after clubbing four homers, the A’s fell silent offensively and saw their 57-game streak of not being shut out come to an end.
Tampa Bay right-hander Matt Andriese held their bats spellbound Saturday night in a 6-0 Rays victory that marked the first time the A’s have been blanked since Sept. 11 of last season against Texas. The 57-game run of scoring at least a run was the longest active streak in the majors.
Andriese (2-0), who spent most of his rookie season of 2015 in the Rays’ bullpen, was making just his second major league start of the season after being recalled from the minors at the beginning of the month. He was sharp in his debut, however, holding the Los Angeles Angels to one run over seven innings. Then he continued his roll against the A’s, facing just two batters over the minimum.
He wasn’t overpowering, striking out five, but he buzzed through the A’s lineup with great efficiency, keeping his pitch count low and allowing him to record his first career complete game and shut out.
The Rays got all the offense they needed in the third, when Brad Miller hit a two-run homer off Kendall Graveman (1-5), who lost his fourth consecutive start. The A’s used the long ball to help power their 6-3 win to open this series Friday, which snapped a five-game losing streak for Oakland. The A’s are 2-6 on this nine-game road trip with just Sunday’s series finale remaining before they finally head home.
Starting pitching report
On a night with little margin for error on the mound, Graveman couldn’t match the zeroes being posted by Andriese. After he allowed Brandon Guyer’s one-out double in the third, Brad Miller homered to right-center on a 2-2 pitch to make put the Rays up 2-0. He would avoid further damage until the sixth, when the Rays got to him for two runs, including Kevin Kiermaier’s RBI single that made it 4-0 and chased Graveman from the game. But Graveman was fortunate not to suffer further damage. With the bases loaded in the second, Steve Pearce hit a liner right at third baseman Danny Valencia and Stephen Souza then got doubled off second after apparently forgetting how many outs there were.
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Bullpen report
The Rays padded their lead with two more runs in the eighth to make it 6-0. Marc Rzepczynski has now suffered through back-to-back poor outings. He allowed three hits and three runs Wednesday at Boston without recording an out, and gave up a run and two walks Saturday.
At the plate
The A’s only signs of life offensively were Matt McBride’s single in the third and Valencia’s single in the seventh. Billy Burns was hit by a pitch in the third as the A’s managed only three baserunners all night.
In the field
Valencia made a throwing error and had Souza Jr.’s double bounce past him in the sixth. Andriese’s defense was air-tight behind him.
Attendance
The announced turnout was 28,158.
Up next
The A’s will try to finish this nine-game trip on a high note Sunday behind Sonny Gray (3-4, 6.00), who looks to halt a personal three-game losing streak. The Rays counter with Matt Moore (1-3, 4.83), 32 of 34
