Rays 2 - 3 Athletics
Final/10
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Norris lifts A's over Rays in 10

Aug 5, 2014 - 6:19 AM Oakland, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - The Oakland Athletics stayed in sole possession of first place in the AL West with a hard-fought win on Monday.

With the Angels breathing down their necks for the division lead, the A's outlasted the Tampa Bay Rays, 3-2, thanks to Derek Norris' game-winning single in the 10th inning.

Oakland has been atop the AL West by themselves since April 27, but Monday's win by the Angels had them within a half-game of pulling even, pending on the outcome of the opener of this three-game series.

In the deciding frame, Sam Fuld singled with one away against Grant Balfour (1-4), John Jaso earned a free pass and Josh Donaldson survived a check swing on a 2-2 pitch and a near catch on a foul ball to earn a walk and load the bases.

After Brandon Moss struck out, Norris shot a dribbler up the middle to drive in the winning run and send the A's to their eighth walk-off win of the season.

Jed Lowrie went 3-for-4 with an RBI and Ryan Cook (1-1) earned the win with a perfect inning of relief.

Oakland's Jeff Samardzija did not factor in the decision despite a quality start, allowing two runs on five hits over seven innings.

Alex Cobb scattered seven hits, four walks and two runs in his outing for the Rays, who received a solo homer from Evan Longoria in their fourth loss in five games.

Cobb was pulled after giving up Donaldson's game-tying RBI single with two outs in the sixth.

Joel Peralta came on in relief and stranded runners at the corners, and the A's again threatened in the seventh, only to have Fuld strike out to leave the bases loaded. The A's went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left 18 on base.

Tampa Bay also spoiled a golden scoring chance in the ninth. With one out and Sean Rodriguez on third, the Rays opted for a squeeze play. Brandon Guyer's pinch-hit bunt went directly to Sean Doolittle, who hopped off the mound and tossed underhand to nab Rodriguez at the plate.

Longoria led off the second inning with his 14th home run of the year, and Oakland tied it in the third when Lowrie doubled off the right-field wall and Josh Reddick scored all the way from first.

The Rays went ahead again in the fifth as Kevin Kiermaier legged out a two-out triple and scored on a Desmond Jennings base hit.

Game Notes

The A's are coming off back-to-back series losses for the first time this season ... Balfour pitched for the A's from 2011-13 ... The Rays had won a franchise record-tying eight straight road games coming in ... Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon was ejected arguing the check swing from Donaldson in the 10th.






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