Field Level Media
May 30, 2018
C.J. Cron, Joey Wendle and Wilson Ramos hit consecutive home runs in the third inning Tuesday night, giving Blake Snell and four Tampa Bay relievers most of the run support they would need as the Rays held on for a 4-3 road victory over the Oakland Athletics.
Daniel Robertson added a fourth solo shot in the ninth inning. Sergio Romo allowed two runs in the bottom of the ninth but closed out the game, helping the Rays win their second straight in the four-game series and their fourth straight overall.
A's starter Daniel Gossett (0-3) opened the Tampa Bay third inning with a pair of strikeouts in a scoreless game before Cron connected on his 12th home run of the season to start the scoring.
Wendle and Ramos then followed in succession, their second and seventh homers of the season, respectively, giving the Rays a three-run cushion.
Robertson belted his sixth off Ryan Dull, the third Oakland pitcher, with two outs in the top of the ninth.
The A's made things interesting after the Rays called upon Romo to close out the 4-1 contest in the home half of the ninth.
Matt Olson singled and Stephen Piscotty doubled to bring the potential tying run to the plate with no outs. Romo settled down to retire Matt Joyce on a run-scoring grounder to shortstop and Bruce Maxwell on a run-scoring grounder to first, clearing the bases while retaining a 4-3 advantage.
Romo, who had started games Friday and Sunday before returning to a relief role in the series opener on Monday, then got Marcus Semien to ground out to second to wrap up his first save since 2016.
Matt Duffy had three hits while Cron and Robertson added two apiece for the Rays, who have allowed a total of just 12 runs in their past six games, winning five of the six.
Jed Lowrie had a double and a single for the A's, who fell to 3-5 on their 10-game homestand.
Snell (7-3) limited the A's to a single unearned run and two hits in 5 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out seven.
Relievers Jonny Venters, Jaime Schultz and Chaz Roe kept the A's scoreless until the ninth, before Romo's adventure began.
Schultz, promoted from the minors over the weekend, had a brilliant major league debut, striking out Piscotty, Joyce and Maxwell in succession in the seventh inning on a total of 14 pitches.
Gossett was pulled after five innings, having allowed three runs and eight hits. He walked two and struck out three.
--Field Level Media