6-run frame fuels 6th straight win as Rays extend AL East lead
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ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays’ magic number in their 10-1 victory over the A’s on Thursday was six. In more ways than one.
Tampa Bay used a six-run fourth inning to earn its sixth consecutive win. Tampa Bay holds a five-game AL East advantage over the Yankees (along with leading the head-to-head tiebreaker) with 10 games remaining for each side, including four in New York next week.
The Rays’ big inning was highlighted by big knocks from lefty batters Chandler Simpson and Richie Palacios against A’s southpaw Jeffrey Springs. With one out and the bases loaded, Simpson lined a two-run single to center to get Tampa Bay on the board. Simpson went 2-for-4 on the afternoon to take the lead over Houston’s Yordan Alvarez for the American League batting title, .311 to .310.
After Ryan Vilade was hit by a pitch to reload the bases, Palacios lined a ball past right fielder Lawrence Butler. Two runs scored on the double, and Vilade dashed for the plate once the throw home skipped away from catcher Jonah Heim. A disgruntled Springs wasn’t watching the play as Vilade slid head-first onto the unoccupied dish and Palacios moved up to third.
Palacios then scored after Taylor Walls, who was activated off the injured list before the game and wears No. 6, put a perfect bunt down along the third-base line for an infield single.
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That was plenty of support for starter Drew Rasmussen, who picked up his 15th win on the year. He coasted through five scoreless innings on 76 pitches (51 strikes), lowering his ERA to 2.72. It was the Rays’ 11th consecutive win in a game started by Rasmussen. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that ties the franchise record for the longest winning streak in a pitcher’s starts. The Rays also won 11 consecutive Matt Moore starts from Sept. 22, 2012, through May 19, 2013.
The win also wrapped up Tampa Bay’s 16th sweep of the season, extending an already existing franchise record. It’s the most sweeps in a single season by any team since the Dodgers had 16 in 2022. It’s the most sweeps by an AL club since the 2019 Astros (17).