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Rays, Athletics continue series at the Trop

Aug 6, 2011 - 3:37 PM (Sports Network) - Alex Cobb will try to continue his success in his first stint in the majors, as the young hurler will try to lead the Tampa Bay Rays to a victory over the Oakland Athletics in the second contest of a three-game series this evening at Tropicana Field.

Cobb has been surprisingly productive in his eight starts for Tampa, and that even includes the his last matchup, which landed him in the loss column for the first time.

In that contest Cobb surrendered three runs on six hits in 6 1/3 innings. However, he walked just one batter and struck out nine. After that performance Cobb now sits at 3-1 with a respectable 2.79 earned run average.

Cobb has never faced Oakland, but in four starts at home the right-hander is 1-0 with a 3.91 ERA.

After going winless in nine starts, Brandon McCarthy seems to have turned his fortunes around, winning three of his last four starts, including two in a row. The veteran right-hander will try for his third straight win this evening.

The last time McCarthy was on the rubber he tossed six strong innings in a win over Minnesota. McCarthy did not walk a batter in the win and also struck out nine.

It was only a couple of weeks ago when McCarthy shut down the Rays at home. In fact, it was one of the best starts of the year for the crafty twirler, who allowed just one run in eight innings of work. In his career against Tampa though, McCarthy is an even 2-2 with a mediocre 3.57 earned run average.

On Friday, Jeff Niemann came within one out of his first complete game of the season to lead Tampa Bay to an 8-4 victory over the Athletics.

Niemann (6-4) gave up four runs on seven hits and struck out eight while walking one to win his fifth straight decision. He's unbeaten in his last eight starts and hasn't lost since May 4 against Toronto. Kyle Farnsworth recorded the final out.

Ben Zobrist ripped a two-run single and added a double, while B.J. Upton finished 3-for-3 with a pair of RBI for the Rays, who have won three in a row.

Coco Crisp smacked a two-run home run while Hideki Matsui added a solo homer for the A's, who have lost four consecutive games.

Guillermo Moscoso (4-6) threw 93 pitches in 4 2/3 innings to take the loss. He gave up four runs on six hits while walking three and striking out three.