• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Pomeranz, A's blank Rays

May 21, 2014 - 5:47 AM St. Petersburg, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Drew Pomeranz and three other pitchers combined for a four-hit shutout to lead the Oakland Athletics in a 3-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays to open a three-game set.

Pomeranz (4-1) gave up three hits and two walks with three strikeouts in five innings for the Athletics, who have won four straight and 10 of their last 11. Dan Otero tossed two frames, with Luke Gregerson and Sean Doolittle each pitching one.

Coco Crisp went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored, while John Jaso drove in the other run in the win.

Jake Odorizzi (2-4) gave up three runs on four hits with five walks and eight strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings for the Rays, who have dropped their past three games.

The Athletics stranded men on first and third in the first inning, but went ahead in the second.

With one out, Derek Norris walked and Eric Sogard singled two batters later. Crisp then doubled in both runners, and Jaso followed with a single to left for a 3-0 lead.

Tampa loaded the bases with one out in the third, but Desmond Jennings hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the frame. The play was reviewed to see if Jennings beat the throw to first, but the call on the field was upheld.

The Rays didn't threaten again until the eighth when the team put runners at the corners with one out, but it was Jennings again grounding into a double play, this one a 5-4-3, as the team came away empty.

"We just have to continue to work at it," said Rays manager Joe Maddon. "The offense is going to come back to us."

Doolittle kept the Rays off the board in the ninth for his third save of the season.

"I'm pretty comfortable," said Doolittle. "I've gotten to do it very sporadically over the past couple of years and a little bit this year. It is a little bit different when you're trying to nail down the last three outs of the game."

Game Notes

The Athletics have outscored their opponents 74-18 over their last 11 games ... These clubs split six games last season, with each team sweeping a three- game set at home ... Pomeranz has won his past three starts.