Rays walk-off A’s, 6-5

The A’s are walked off for the second time in as many days as the offense struggles and Hogan Harris impresses

A’s fans have got to be sick of Jose Siri.

Just when it looked like the A’s would get their first road series victory in over a month, Siri changed the game in the bottom of the ninth with a game-tying solo home run off of Mason Miller — his second big fly of the game. You’d think he’s a first ballot hall of famer based on this series but Siri is just a .188 hitter.

Three innings later it was Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Richie Palacios walking off the A’s with a single to center to clinch the 6-5 win and the series. The Rays have now won back-to-back games in the same fashion and they can thank the A’s dubious offense for this one.

It’s a shame the A’s lost too because they spoiled a really inspiring effort from Hogan Harris. Harris arrived in St. Petersburg at 5 am this morning from Triple-A Las Vegas to start todays game — his first start of the 2024 season. All signs yesterday pointed to Kyle Muller getting todays start but it ends up being Harris and thankfully it was because he was lights out.

Combine Harris’ quick turnover with a JJ Bleday first-inning error and it’s no mistake that the Rays jumped on him early. Or just look at the game thread comments and you’d be able to tell that Harris wasn’t 100% out of the gate.

Isaac Paredes, the best Rays hitter this season according to many categories, got the party started with a two-run bomb to left field just four hitters into the game. In the second inning it was Siri’s turn to hurt the A’s slugging a solo-bomb to put the Rays ahead 3-0.

The A’s couldn’t do anything against Rays opener Shawn Armstrong for the two innings he worked, but they found better fortunes against Tyler Alexander in third.

Abraham Toro singled with one-out, and he scored on a Brent Rooker double when Siri bobbled the ball in center. I guess Siri is human after all?

Rooker scored when Miguel Andujar clutched up yet again on an RBI single, and Shea Langeliers wrapped things up with two-run bomb to give the A’s a 4-3 lead.

Mark Kotsay had stacked his lineup full of righties in anticipation for a hefty dose of Rays left-handers, and the first inning the A’s got thrown a southpaw in Alexander they didn’t turn back. Harris then ironically worked his best inning of the day in the bottom half striking out a pair of Rays.

As the A’s offense tends to do too often, they sputtered for the next few innings.

Toro led off the fifth with a double but was stranded without even moving up 90 feet. Zack Gelof sparked a two-out sixth inning rally with a single and stolen base but Aledmys Diaz grounded out. Another two-out rally in the sixth with a runner in scoring position ended when Rooker struck out.

The A’s outhit the Rays 11-6 and had 17 runners in scoring position all game but went just 2/17. Several can pin todays loss on Miller or the bullpen, but the offense drawing a blank for the final six innings and in key scenarios is just as noteworthy.

Harris picked up the offense and exceeded all expectations considering the circumstances. He went 6.2 innings allowing four hits, and three runs but just one earned. He also struck out seven to tie a career-high. His day ended with back-to-back groundouts when he was replaced by Michael Kelly.

Scott Alexander worked a three up, three down seventh throwing just six pitches, and Austin Adams followed suite working around a first and second one-out jam in the eighth by inducing an inning-ending double play by Paredes.

Everything was looking to fall in place for the A’s to take ²⁄₃ in the ninth, but Siri’s one-out solo blast off of Miller extended the game to extra innings. It’s just Millers third outing of the season allowing a run and his first blown save of the season. The home run came on a fastball, and Siri entered today with a 45% whiff rate on the fastball. What a wacky game and series this turned out to be.

In extra innings, the A’s offense once again stalled and blew another opportunity in the 10th. They scored their automatic runner from second thanks to a Toro RBI single, and Rays closer Pete Fairbanks would intentionally walk the bases loaded with no outs to put the force on.

Fairbanks and the Rays plan worked to perfection as Andujar grounded into a 5-2-3 double play. The next batter, Langeliers, struck out to head into the bottom half up just one.

In the Rays half, Randy Arozarena tied the game up at five with a sacrifice fly off of Miller. Miller would then intentionally walk two straight batters with two-outs to load the bases and get his matchup in Jonny DeLuca who thankfully flew out to keep things going.

Both teams exchanged quiet scoreless halves in the 11th, and the A’s had another prime opportunity in the 12th with runners at second and third and one out against a former friend, Richard Lovelady. More poor situational at-bats would plague the A’s, however, as Bleday struck out and Tyler Soderstrom popped out. This time the A’s blown opportunity wouldn’t get wasted on the other end.

Palacios smacked the walk-off off of T.J. McFarland yet Tyler Ferguson is credited with the loss. The A’s conclude May without a road series victory, and this one stings a little more than normal.

The A’s will head north to Georgia to open a three-game weekend interleague series with the mighty Atlanta Braves starting tomorrow at 4:20 PM PDT. A’s fans will get to see some familiar faces such as Matt Olson, Sean Murphy, and potentially even the newly acquired Ramon Laureano. JP Sears will start for the A’s while the Braves have yet to announce who they’ll oppose with.