OAKLAND, Calif. — The Rays haven’t played well in close games this season, and part of the reason why is because their shaky bullpen has struggled to maintain leads of late.
But as the Rays snapped their season-long four-game losing streak with a 5-3 win over the Athletics at Oakland Coliseum, the team’s beleaguered relievers came through in a tight game.
It wasn’t pretty, but the Rays’ pen preserved an eighth-inning one-run lead, stranding the go-ahead run on second base, then added an insurance run in the ninth.
After left-hander Colin Poche allowed a RBI double to Matt Olson to cut the Rays’ lead to one run with no outs, struggling right-hander Chaz Roe entered and retired both batters he faced, and right-hander Oliver Drake recorded the final out of the eighth
Drake issued an 11-pitch walk to Stephen Piscotty to open the ninth, then struck out Robbie Grossman.