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Rays rally late to beat A's

Jul 29, 2011 - 1:15 AM Oakland, CA (Sports Network) - Spurred by a seven-run seventh inning, the Tampa Bay Rays rallied for a 10-8 victory on Thursday to avoid a four-game sweep at the hands of hot-hitting Oakland.

After losing the first three games of the series by a combined score of 26-10, the Rays climbed out of a 5-0 deficit in the first inning of this one, scoring all of their runs from the sixth inning on to breathe much-needed life into their 10-game road trip.

Evan Longoria's solo homer capped the seven-run rally and Tampa Bay survived the Athletics scoring a run in each of their last three innings.

Left fielder Desmond Jennings belted his first career MLB homer, a two-run shot in the sixth that started the comeback, and finished with four RBI, while B.J. Upton added a solo blast in the eighth, helping the Rays improve to 2-5 on their road trip.

"If our guys have proven anything over the years, it's that we don't [give up]," said Rays manager Joe Maddon. "Maybe we've had a bad week ... but that doesn't mean you're bad all of a sudden."

Conor Jackson's two-run homer highlighted Oakland's explosive first and Kurt Suzuki hit a solo shot in the seventh.

The A's, after heading into the All-Star break as one of the league's most downtrodden teams, are 8-5 since then. Their three straight wins to open this series included a 13-4 victory on Wednesday.

"We got a nice little lead (Thursday) and with our pitching we should win those games," said A's manager Bob Melvin. "Sometimes you have to give the other team a little credit, too. After three games, they didn't stop fighting."

Improbably, Rays starter Wade Davis (8-7) earned the win after Oakland hit for the cycle against him -- in succession, no less -- during the first inning.

But after giving up six straight hits during the frame, Davis struck out four straight batters and retired the final 17 he saw before he was relieved by Joel Peralta to start the seventh.

Peralta pushed the streak to 18 consecutive retired batters before Suzuki's one-out homer snapped it. Jake McGee gave up a run in the eighth and Kyle Farnsworth allowed one to cross in the ninth before settling down to earn his 20th save.

A's starter Rich Harden allowed two runs on three hits in six innings and exited with a 5-2 lead after striking out seven.

Craig Breslow got just one out in the seventh while letting a run score, and Brad Ziegler (3-2) didn't retire any of the three batters he faced. Brian Fuentes finished the disastrous seventh, during which the Rays sent 10 batters to the plate for their seven runs.

Before Longoria's homer made it 9-5, Jennings collected a two-run single and Matt Joyce and Johnny Damon both had RBI base hits. Two other runs scored on a Ziegler walk and Fuentes wild pitch.

Suzuki's homer cut Oakland's deficit to three runs, but Upton got the run back with his blast in the eighth. Hideki Matsui walked and scored on a ground out in the eighth and Scott Sizemore delivered an RBI single in the ninth.

But Farnsworth settled in, getting Jemile Weeks on a line drive and striking out Cliff Pennington to end the game.

Pennington sparked Oakland's five-run rally in the first inning with a one-out single, the first of six straight hits. Matsui followed with a base hit and Josh Willingham knocked Pennington in with a double. David DeJesus' two-run triple and Jackson's two-run homer capped the rally.

Game Notes

Davis earned his first win in four starts (1-2)...The Rays will finish their 10-game road trip with a three-game series in Seattle starting Friday...The A's with start a three-game series at home against the Minnesota Twins on Friday.