Rays open series with win over A's
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Left-hander Matt Moore pitched seven strong innings, and Tim Beckham and Corey Dickerson hit solo home runs as the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Oakland A's 7-3 on Thursday night in the opener of their four-game series at the Oakland Coliseum.
Moore (6-7) gave up three runs on four hits, struck out six and walked two. He pitched at least six innings for the ninth straight game. In his previous eight starts, he went 3-4 with a 3.02 ERA, 38 strikeouts and 13 walks.
The Rays, coming off back-to-back wins at Colorado, won their third straight game, one off their season high. They matched their longest streak since June 12-15. The Rays scored a combined 21 runs in their victories against the Rockies and stayed hot against Oakland, pounding out 10 hits.
Beckham, who had a franchise record-tying five hits Wednesday against Colorado, homered in his first at-bat and singled in his second, giving him eight straight hits in eight at-bats. That tied a franchise record he shares with Aubrey Huff and Ty Wigginton. Beckham's streak ended when he popped out in the sixth inning.
Dickerson went 2-for-3 with his 14th home run of the season and drove in three runs. Logan Forsythe went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI and scored twice.
Right-hander Alex Colome took over with runners on first and second in the ninth and got the final three outs for his 21st straight save, one off the team record set by Fernando Rodney set in 2012. Colome extended his own franchise record of consecutive saves to start a season.
A's right-hander Sonny Gray (4-9) gave up seven runs on nine hits, including two home runs, over five innings. He struck out six, walked none and threw 94 pitches. Gray fell to 1-8 over his past 14 starts. He ended a seven-game losing streak with a victory against Toronto on Saturday, his first win since April 22.
Jake Smolinski hit a three-run homer in the second inning for the A's, his fifth blast of the season.
The Rays took a 1-0 lead in the first when Forsythe hit a leadoff single and scored on Dickerson's two-out single. They added a run in the second on Beckham's fourth home run of the season.
The A's moved ahead 3-2 in the bottom of the second on Smolinski's three-run, two-out shot to left-center.
Tampa Bay pulled even with Dickerson's leadoff home run in the fourth. Then the Rays scored four times in the fifth, building a 7-3 lead against Gray.
The Rays had five hits in the inning -- a double by Forsythe and singles by Beckham, Luke Maile, Brad Miller and Longoria. Dickerson had a sacrifice fly.
NOTES: Tampa Bay 1B Logan Morrison missed his third consecutive game due to a sore right forearm and was scheduled to be examined Thursday by a doctor. Rays manager Kevin Cash said team trainers expect Morrison to avoid a trip to the disabled list. .... Rays 1B Steve Pearce (right hamstring) was out of the lineup, as expected, after playing back-to-back games since being activated from the disabled list. With Morrison and Pearce sidelined, Rays backup 2B/SS Tim Beckham made his first start and appearance at first base in his professional baseball career, which began in 2008. ... RHP Jesse Hahn will be called up Sunday from Triple-A Nashville and start for the A's in the series finale against Tampa Bay. Hahn, who was sent down on June 10, is 2-4 with a 6.49 ERA in seven major league starts this season. ... The A's called up RHP Zach Neal from Nashville and optioned LHP Patrick Schuster to the Sounds.