OAKLAND, Calif. — Cliff Pennington had three hits to remain the hottest hitter in the major leagues since the All-Star break, Brandon McCarthy pitched eight innings and the Oakland Athletics beat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-1 on Tuesday night. Conor Jackson went 3 for 4 and Hideki Matsui added an RBI double as Oakland won for the third time in four games. The A’s are 7-4 since the break.Ben Zobrist homered and Johnny Damon hit his 506th double to tie Babe Ruth for 47th on baseball’s all-time list but the Rays continued to struggle with men on base and lost for the 10th time in 14 games.Pennington singled twice and had an RBI double in the sixth, extending his career-high hitting streak to 10 games. He raised his average to .500 (18 for 36) since the All-Star break.That’s been a big factor in the A’s recent success. Oakland has scored four or more runs in each of its last six games — the club’s longest such streak of the season.McCarthy hadn’t made it out of the sixth inning in his previous three starts and was knocked around by Detroit in his most recent outing on July 20.The lanky right-hander, who missed more than six weeks while on the disabled list with a stress reaction in his right scapula, rebounded nicely against Tampa Bay. McCarthy (3-5) pitched with runners on base in each of the first six innings but worked out of trouble each time to win for only the second time in his last 12 starts. McCarthy, who struck out three and walked two, lost his shutout bid with one out in the seventh when Zobrist homered for the second straight game, but retired the next two batters. Grant Balfour pitched the ninth to complete the seven-hitter. Tampa Bay starter David Price (9-9) allowed four runs over six innings and walked four — two of which scored. The left-hander is 1-3 with two no-decisions over his last six starts.Scott Sizemore scored on Jemile Weeks’ sacrifice fly in the third, while David DeJesus drove in Josh Willingham with a sacrifice fly against Price in the fourth.Pennington made it 3-0 when he singled leading off the fifth and scored on Matsui’s double to right-center, then doubled in Sizemore in the sixth.Kurt Suzuki added a two-run double in the eighth.The Rays stranded eight runners and are 1 for 20 with runners in scoring position during the first two games of this four-game series.Zobrist walked his first two at-bats and flied out to right before homering in the eighth. It was the fourth home run allowed by McCarthy this season.

Read More: Desmond Jennings (CF – TAM), David Price (P – TAM), James Shields (P – TAM), Brandon McCarthy (P – OAK)

The Oakland Athletics look to win their second straight contest against the Tampa Bay Rays as they send out Brandon McCarthy to face David Price. The Rays will actually tie a fairly epic record Tuesday night. Starting Price will mark the 704th consecutive game in which the Rays have sent out a pitcher under the age of 30. This ties the mark set by the Washington Senators from 1913-1917 and the Rays will likely break the record on Wednesday when James Shields makes his start.

The highlight of this series continues to be the young, athletic speedsters Jemile Weeks and Desmond Jennings. Weeks got off to a strong start when he was called up in early June and is currently leading the A’s with a line of .307/.341/.405 with 10 steals. Jennings has been up for three games and has a nice little line of .545/.667/1.000 with three steals. It’s an incredibly small sample size but it’s easy to see why the Rays are excited about the youngster.

Oakland Athletics
1. Jemile Weeks 2B
2. Coco Crisp CF
3. Hideki Matsui LF
4. Josh Willingham DH
5. Conor Jackson 1B
6. David DeJesus RF
7. Scott Sizemore 3B
8. Kurt Suzuki C
9. Cliff Pennington SS

Tampa Bay Rays
1. Desmond Jennings LF
2. Johnny Damon DH
3. Ben Zobrist 2B
4. Evan Longoria 3B
5. Casey Kotchman 1B
6. B.J. Upton CF
7. Matt Joyce RF
8. Robinson Chirinos C
9. Sean Rodriguez SS

The Oakland Athletics try to string back-to-back wins
together this evening when they continue their four-game series against the
Tampa Bay Rays at the Coliseum.

Oakland drew first blood in this series on Monday, as Conor Jackson hit the
go-ahead two-run double in the seventh inning, boosting the A’s to a 7-5 win.
Coco Crisp added an insurance RBI double in the eighth for Oakland, which
bounced back from losing two of three games to the Yankees over the weekend.

Guillermo Moscoso gave up eight hits and five runs over five-plus innings
before the A’s came to the rescue by rallying from a 5-2 deficit. Michael
Wuertz, Brian Fuentes (2-8), Grant Balfour and Andrew Bailey combined to shut
down the Rays the rest of the way. Bailey escaped a jam in the ninth to get
his 12th save.

Cliff Pennington smacked a two-run homer in the second inning for the A’s.

“It can be contagious when you’re not swinging well and it can be contagious
when you’re swinging well,” A’s interim manager Bob Melvin said. “If you get
one or two guys going, sometimes guys follow suit.”

Ben Zobrist and Kelly Shoppach homered for the Rays, who lost for the seventh
time in 10 contests.

Jeremy Hellickson was charged with four hits and three runs in the start for
Tampa Bay. J.P. Howell (2-2) suffered the loss.

Getting the call for the Rays tonight will be lefty David Price, who has lost
two of his last three decisions. Price absorbed the loss on Wednesday against
the Yankees, as he surrendered two runs and six hits in 7 1/3 frames to fall
to 9-8 on the year to go along with a 3.67 ERA.

Price has faced the A’s twice and is 1-0 with a 2.63 ERA.

The Rays will tie a major league record tonight when they start a pitcher
under the age of 30 for the 704th consecutive game. The 1913-1917 Washington
Senators, led by Hall of Famer Walter Johnson, set the record.

“I think it’s awesome,” said Price. “It’s pretty special and good to be a part
of something like that.”

Oakland, meanwhile, will hand the ball to righty Brandon McCarthy, who is 2-5
with a 3.74 ERA. McCarthy did not get a decision on Wednesday in Detroit, as
he allowed four runs and six hits in five innings of his team’s 7-5 win.

McCarthy is 1-2 in seven games (six starts) against the Rays with a 4.18 ERA.

The Rays took five of nine from the A’s last season, but have dropped seven of
their last 11 in Oakland.

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OAKLAND, Calif., July 26 (UPI) — Conor Jackson delivered a go-ahead, two-run double in the seventh inning Monday and the Oakland Athletics rallied for a 7-5 win over Tampa Bay.

Trailing 5-3 entering the seventh, the A’s started a comeback when Hideki Matsui hit a one-out single off J.P. Howell (2-2), Josh Willigham walked and David DeJesus singled in a run to make it 5-4.

Joel Peralta took the mound and Jackson greeted him by drilling a pitch off the left-center field wall, handing the A’s the lead.

Cliff Pennington added a two-run homer for Oakland, which took the opener of a four-game series against the Rays.

Brian Fuentes (2-8) collected the win after getting the final two outs of the seventh and Andrew Bailey racked up his 12th save.

Ben Zobrist went 3-for-4 with a solo homer and Kelly Shoppach added a bases-empty shot for Tampa Bay.

Read More: Eric Sogard (2B – OAK), Duane Below (P – DET), Brandon McCarthy (P – OAK), Detroit Tigers

The Oakland Athletics look to split their two-game series against the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday without their most explosive player. Jemile Weeks fouled a pitch off his right foot on Tuesday and is still feeling a bit sore. However, he did state he would be available off the bench if needed. Eric Sogard will get the start at second base in place of Weeks. This is the first game Weeks will have missed since he was called up in early June.

The A’s will send out Brandon McCarthy to face recently recalled Duane Below who is making his major league debut. Below underwent Tommy John surgery in 2009 shortly after his promotion to Double-A and has finally worked his way back. In 18 starts at Triple-A Toledo, Below was 9-4 with a 3.13 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 115 innings. The A’s will look to figure out a way to get some offense going against the new starter.

Oakland Athletics
1. Coco Crisp CF
2. Cliff Pennington SS
3. Josh Willingham LF
4. Hideki Matsui DH
5. Conor Jackson 3B
6. Kurt Suzuki C
7. David DeJesus RF
8. Landon Powell 1B
9. Eric Sogard 2B

Detroit Tigers
1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Brennan Boesch LF
3. Magglio Ordonez RF
4. Miguel Cabrera 1B
5. Victor Martinez DH
6. Carlos Guillen 2B
7. Alex Avila C
8. Don Kelly 3B
9. Ramon Santiago SS

Read More: Ryan Sweeney (RF – OAK), Coco Crisp (CF – OAK), Josh Willingham (LF – OAK), Guillermo Moscoso (P – OAK), Los Angeles Angels, Detroit Tigers

The Oakland Athletics will face off with the Detroit Tigers Tuesday afternoon at 4:00pm pacific looking to build on the momentum of their series victory over the Los Angeles Angels. The matchup features Guillermo Moscoso taking on Rick Porcello as the Tigers will look to hang steady behind the AL Central-leading Cleveland Indians.

In an interesting twist, the A’s have sat outfielder Josh Willingham for the series opener, instead going with Ryan Sweeney in left field and placing Coco Crisp in the three spot in the lineup. More than likely this is simply the A’s looking to get some quality matchups given Sweeney’s success against right handed batters. At the same time, it’s an interesting decision if the team is in fact shopping Willingham in advance of the trade deadline. One would think the A’s would want to showcase the outfielder, but there is also the idea of actually trying to win games.

First pitch is scheduled for 4:05pm pacific on CSN California.

Oakland Athletics
1. Jemile Weeks 2B
2. Ryan Sweeney LF
3. Coco Crisp CF
4. Hideki Matsui DH
5. Scott Sizemore 3B
6. David DeJesus RF
7. Conor Jackson 1B
8. Kurt Suzuki C
9. Cliff Pennington SS

Detroit Tigers
1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Brennan Boesch LF
3. Magglio Ordonez RF
4. Miguel Cabrera 1B
5. Victor Martinez DH
6. Jhonny Peralta SS
7. Carlos Guillen 2B
8. Alex Avila C
9. Brandon Inge 3B