Athletics 7, Rays 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Oakland Athletics have back-to-back wins for the first time since April 14, as right-hander Sonny Gray led the A's to a 7-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday to split the four-game series at Tropicana Field.
Gray had to leave the game after five innings and just 67 pitches due to a right ankle contusion that resulted from being hit in the leg by a comebacker off the bat of Rays first baseman James Loney in the fourth inning. There was no immediate indication on the severity of the injury.
Gray improved his record to 5-2 and reduced his earned-run average to 1.77.
Tampa Bay (24-21) remains in first place in the American League East but struggled at the plate for the second game in a row.
The big swing for the Athletics (16-30) was a three-run home run in the sixth inning by first baseman Mark Canha off Rays starter Erasmo Ramirez, who pitched more than five innings in a game for the first time this season.
Right fielder Josh Reddick added a solo home run in the seventh off reliever Ernesto Frieri for a 6-0 lead.
Oakland took a shutout into the eighth inning, but the Rays avoided a second straight blanking when second baseman Logan Forsythe brought home two runs with a bases-loaded single.
Tampa Bay right fielder Steven Souza left the game with a sprained left wrist in the middle of his second at-bat, in the third inning. Souza may have been injured when he collided with A's catcher Stephen Vogt in the first inning, and is listed as day-to-day.
Oakland provided run support on the first pitch of the game, as center fielder Billy Burns led off the game with a solo home run off Ramirez.
The Rays kept the game close for five innings, with the only other A's run coming on a third-inning sacrifice fly by Vogt, scoring Burns, who had singled. Gray gave up four hits in the first five innings, but kept the Rays off the scoreboard.
This came after Oakland shut out the Rays in Saturday's 5-0 win.
Oakland took control of the game in the sixth inning, when Ramirez opened the inning by walking Vogt and hitting designated hitter Billy Butler. Canha followed with a three-run home run to left, his sixth of the season, for a 5-0 lead.
Oakland returns home for a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers starting on Monday, while the Rays stay home for three games against the Seattle Mariners, starting Monday.
NOTES: The Rays have now rostered as many pitchers as they did in all of 2014, as RHP Preston Guilmet was called up from Triple-A Durham to help an overworked bullpen. LHP Enny Romero was sent down after a one-game cameo, having thrown five walks (four in the ninth) on Saturday night. ... Rays LHP Matt Moore threw two innings Saturday in a simulated game in Port Charlotte, Fla., his first live game test as he returns from Tommy John surgery. ... Two more injured Rays -- 2B Ryan Brett and LHP C.J. Riefenhauser -- were scheduled to play Sunday with Class A Charlotte as they return from left shoulder injuries. ... The A's scored five runs in Saturday's win, this after totaling nine runs in the first five games of their road trip.