Arbeitssicherheit » Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash watched the Rays struggle

OAKLAND Greg Holland Jersey , Calif. (AP) — through the first half of their longest road trip of the season, including a walkoff loss a day earlier in Oakland.Cash nearly emptied his bullpen Friday to get the Rays back on track.A handful of stellar defensive plays, including one by shortstop Willy Adames, proved just as important.Article continues below ...Adames homered and threw out a runner at home, and the Rays snapped a four-game losing streak with a 5-3 victory over the Athletics.“It took every bit of our roster, of our pitching staff, to get it done,” Cash said. “We made some big pitches when we needed to, some tremendous plays defensively and some timely hitting. We had a rough go for three days in New York and then last night kind of was the icing on the cake. It was good to see the guys bounce back and find a way to win.”The Rays entered the game with the second-best road record in the majors, despite getting swept in three games by the Yankees before losing to the A’s on Thursday when closer Diego Castillo blew his first save.Oakland kept it close again and had the tying run at the plate in the ninth before Emilio Pagán retired pinch-hitter Mark Canha on a comebacker, then got Marcus Semien to ground out to end it.“We’ve been struggling a little bit, but that’s going to happen in baseball,” Adames said. “Finally we got this win. It’s important. It got us our confidence back.”Adames finished with three hits. Second baseman Brandon Lowe doubled twice and made a stellar defensive play http://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-chad-bettis-jersey , one of several by the Rays defense.Matt Olson and Ramón Laureano homered for Oakland. Semien was 0 for 5, ending his career-high 17-game hitting streak.Earlier Friday, the A’s lost their top pitcher, Frankie Montas, to an 80-game suspension by Major League Baseball after the right-hander tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance.Adames hit his seventh home run of the season off Wei-Chung Wang in the sixth, then singled and scored in the ninth. All seven of Adames homers have come on the road.Austin Pruitt (1-0), the third of seven Tampa Bay pitchers, retired nine batters and earned the win. Pagán pitched the ninth for his fourth save.“We pride ourselves on our pitching,” Pagán said. “We let the offense down last night. To be able to come up tonight in big situations is huge. It’s a momentum-builder. If we get going on all cylinders, this team can be really scary. We still haven’t done that yet at any point in the season.”Lowe’s defense was big for Tampa Bay. He started a pair of double plays in the fourth and fifth, then made a diving stop and strong throw to get Stephen Piscotty to end the sixth.The Rays made two other defensive gems.Right fielder Guillermo Heredia threw out Matt Olson in the fifth when Olson attempted to go to second on a single. In the sixth, Khris Davis tried to score from first on Jurickson Profar’s double and was thrown out at the plate on a strong relay throw from shortstop Adames.The A’s challenged, but the call was confirmed.“(Davis) was being aggressive and when it happened I was all for it http://www.rockiesfanproshop.com/authentic-chad-bettis-jersey ,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said “We thought maybe (catcher Travis d’Arnaud) was blocking the plate.”A’s starter Tanner Anderson (0-2) allowed three runs and seven hits in four innings.NOT A BAD OPENINGAndrew Kittredge became the latest Rays pitcher to be used as an opener, and the right-hander got passing grades in his debut in the role this season. Kittredge allowed two hits in two innings, walked one and struck out three.BOB’S BACKA’s manager Bob Melvin returned to the Coliseum after missing Thursday’s comeback win because of a sore neck. Melvin received injections to relieve some of the pain he’s been experiencing since training camp.MAKING HISTORYOakland reliever Joakim Soria made his 673rd career appearance when he entered in the eighth. That ties Dennys Reyes for most games by a Mexican-born pitcher.TRAINERS ROOMAthletics: LHP Sean Manaea pitched a second simulated game in Arizona on Thursday and will likely begin a rehab assignment soon.UP NEXTOakland righty Mike Fiers (7-3, 4.28 ERA) pitches Saturday and is looking to extend an unbeaten streak that began May 7 when he no-hit the Cincinnati Reds. Fiers beat the Rays on June 11. Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash has not named a starter.__ Marco Gonzales will be glad to see the Los Angeles Angels again.The Seattle Mariners left-hander is scheduled to start the series finale on Sunday at Angel Stadium and try to help his team to a four-game sweep.The Mariners (82-66) won all five of Gonzales’ previous starts against Los Angeles (73-76).Article continues below ...Gonzales is 3-0 in those games with a 3.00 ERA.Gonzales (12-9, 4.24 ERA) hasn’t been as successful against the rest of the league, especially in the past six weeks. Since beating the Angels on July 29 in Anaheim, he is 0-4 in his past five starts with an 8.64 ERA.Most of that damage was done in August, which coincided with the Mariners falling from a one-game lead over the Oakland A’s for the second wild card in the American League on Aug. 1 to 5 1/2 games behind the A’s on Aug. 31.The Mariners enter Sunday 7 1/2 games back of the A’s.After missing two starts because of a strained cervical muscle in his neck, Gonzales was much better in his last outing, however. On a limited pitch count on Tuesday against the visiting San Diego Padres, he allowed one run and four hits in five innings. He left with the score tied 1-1 before the Padres scored a run in the ninth to win 2-1.Two years removed from Tommy John surgery, Gonzales has thrown 150 2/3 innings in his first full season as a starter. His previous career high was 40 innings last season.“This is kind of uncharted territory for him as far as innings limits and what he’s done with his stuff, so we’ll keep a very Tyler Anderson Jersey , very close eye on him,” Seattle manager Scott Servais told mlb.com after his last start. “You won’t see us extend his pitch count much at all.”Gonzales has struggled to put away Angels center fielder Mike Trout and shortstop Andrelton Simmons. Trout is 8-for-17 with a home run off Gonzales in his career and Simmons is 7-for-16.The Angels will counter with rookie right-hander Jaime Barria.Barria (10-9, 3.53 ERA) has been one of the biggest surprises for Los Angeles this season.After a hot start followed by a flat middle of the season, Barria found his groove again in August.He went 4-1 with a 1.82 ERA in six straight starts from Aug. 8 to Sept. 5. Barria took a slight step back in his last outing, allowing four runs, three hits and four walks in three innings of a 5-2 loss to the Texas Rangers.“Uncharacteristic walks showed up for him,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia told mlb.com after the loss. “This guy usually makes pitches. He was a little out of sync and was really grinding.”Barria faced the Mariners four times between June 12 and July 28, his low stretch of the season, and went 1-3 with a 3.80 ERA in those games.Seattle designated hitter Nelson Cruz is 4-for-9 with two home runs against Barria, and right fielder Mitch Haniger is 3-for-8 with two home runs.