Healy, Pinder power A's past Rays in nightcap
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Ryon Healy and Chad Pinder each hit a home run in the seventh inning to break open a close game and lead the Oakland Athletics to a 7-2 win against the Tampa Bay Rays in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday at Tropicana Field.
The Athletics (27-35) earned a split in the doubleheader and snapped the Rays' five-game win streak. Tampa Bay won the opener 6-5 in 10 innings.
Healy hit a solo homer to left field off Rays reliever Ryne Stanek to give the Athletics a 4-2 lead and Pinder added a two-run opposite field shot, also off Stanek.
That was plenty of run support for Athletics starter Sean Manaea (6-3), who gave up two runs on six hits over seven innings. He struck out five and threw 103 pitches, 67 for strikes.
Oakland took a 3-1 lead in the top of the sixth after Jaycob Brugman reached on a bunt single and Khris Davis scored.
Tampa Bay (33-32) made the score 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth when Evan Longoria hit a solo shot, the 250th homer of his career.
Brugman added his second RBI of the game in the ninth, a sacrifice fly that scored Davis.
The Athletics got on the board quickly against Rays starter Matt Andriese with an RBI single from Yonder Alonso that scored Healy for a 1-0 lead.
Tampa Bay answered in the bottom of the first with an RBI single from Longoria that scored Peter Bourjos.
Andriese was removed after the first inning with a strained right groin, the same injury he that forced him on the 10-day DL late last month. He was replaced by Chih-Wei Hu.
In the second inning, Josh Phegley hit a solo homer off Hu to give the Athletics a 2-1 lead.
Hu went four innings and gave up one run and two hits. He struck out five.
Andriese threw just 21 pitches and gave up a run and three hits.
NOTES: The Rays activated RHP Matt Andriese (groin) from the 10-day DL before the second game of the doubleheader. ... Athletics RHP Andrew Triggs was placed on the 10-day DL with a left hip strain, a day after losing his fourth consecutive start ... The Rays added RHP Chih-Wei Hu from Triple-A Durham per MLB's 26th man rule. ... The Athletics called up OF Matt Olson from Triple-A Nashville and reinstated LHP Sean Doolittle (left shoulder) from the 10-day DL to be the 26th man. Doolittle pitched a scoreless eighth inning. ... Rays RHP Ryan Garton was optioned to Triple-A Durham after the first game of the doubleheader to make room for Andriese.