News » THE ROADGiants catcher Buster Posey

ST. PETERSBURG http://www.padresfanproshop.com/authentic-ozzie-smith-jersey , Fla. (AP) — Jake Bauers spoiled the Oakland Athletics‘ chance to close some ground on the AL wild card-leading New York Yankees.Bauers hit a three-run homer off Jeurys Familia in the eighth inning to help the Tampa Bay Rays slow the playoff-chasing Athletics with a 7-5 win Saturday night.Oakland remains 1 1/2 games behind the Yankees for the top AL wild card after New York lost to Toronto earlier in the day. The A’s, who have dropped two of three since winning six straight, fell 3 1/2 games behind Houston in the AL West.Bauers’ homer was just the second allowed by Familia (4-2) since he was acquired by Oakland on July 21 from the Mets.It came a few minutes after Oakland manager Bob Melvin was ejected by home plate umpire Larry Vanover for arguing a third-strike call on Marcus Semien in the top of the eighth.Bauers, who busted a 4-for-65 slump with three hits and four RBIs, celebrated his 11th homer with a big flip of the bat.“It’s nothing to do with disrespect or showing people up or anything like that. It’s just purely letting a lot of pent up emotions out,” he said. “The homer felt great, the bat flip felt better.”Andrew Kittredge (2-2) retired Mark Canha with the bases loaded in the eighth to preserve a 4-4 tie and win a game in which both teams used relievers as openers. Tampa Bay and Oakland have been at the forefront of that trend this season.“Oakland’s playing for an awful lot right now,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Every game, they put themselves in a situation where they’re playing for a wild card home field. They’ve been on a nice run. It makes all the sense in the world how aggressive they’re being.”Sergio Romo got his 20th save despite giving up a homer to Matt Chapman in the ninth. It was Chapman’s 23rd homer.Oakland’s big chance came in the eighth. Before Canha grounded out, Semien was called out on strikes with the bases loaded.“I mean, everyone sees the box,” Semien said. “I looked at the box on the computer and it was not in the strike zone. That’s the facts. That’s what I saw on our computer.”Melvin, who was ejected for the second time this season, saw it, too.“The closer we get to the end, the more emotional we’re going to be,” he said. “He’s trying to grind through that at-bat and drive in the go-ahead run, and you feel like he gets a (strike) call that’s not a strike. … It happens.”Brandon Lowe hit a two-run homer in the second to put Tampa Bay ahead, and Jed Lowrie made it 2-1 in the third with a single off Yonny Chirinos. Chirinos then retired 10 in a row before Matt Olson tied it in the sixth with his 27th home run.Kevin Kiermaier hit an RBI triple and scored on Bauers’ sacrifice fly for a 4-2 lead in the sixth Cory Spangenberg Jersey , but Canha’s pinch-hit double helped the A’s tie it at 4 in the seventh.Tommy Pham’s 17-game hitting streak came to an end for the Rays, who have won 10 of 13.FOUR TEAMS WINNING 100 GAMES?With two weeks left in the season, the A’s, Astros and Yankees could join the Red Sox as 100-win teams. Never before have three teams from the same league — or four teams from both leagues — won 100 games in the same season.“There seems to be, at least in our league, more powerhouses this year than in the past, maybe a little less parity,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. “The only thing I would really take from that is that if you went into the season and looked at those (other) three teams that might win 100 games, you almost expected them to.”TRAINER’S ROOMAthletics: OF Chad Pinder was in the leadoff spot after stumbling over the bullpen mound while chasing a foul ball Friday night.Rays: Cash said Romo is fine after the reliever “dinged his knee up a little bit” while working a perfect ninth inning Friday night. … INF Daniel Robertson, rehabbing after season-ending left thumb surgery, resumed taking grounders at second base and shortstop.UP NEXTRHP Mike Fiers (5-0, 2.72 in seven starts since being acquired from Detroit) will pitch Sunday’s series finale for the A’s. RHP Diego Castillo, who started Friday night’s game for the Rays and pitched two innings, will start again Sunday. A look at what’s happening around the majors today:BREAK OUT THE BROOMSThe surprising Rays go for their eighth straight victory when they try to become the first team to sweep Boston in a series this season. Tampa Bay is a season-high eight games over .500 at 69-61 and has allowed three or fewer runs in seven consecutive games. All-Star lefty Blake Snell (15-5, 2.07 ERA) pitches against former teammate Nathan Eovaldi (5-5) in the finale of the three-game set. “He really helped me with my work ethic and led by example,” said Snell, who is 2-0 with a 0.95 ERA in three starts against Boston this year. “He’s very special.”Eovaldi is 2-1 with a 2.89 ERA in five starts for the major league-leading Red Sox since being acquired from the Rays on July 25. Boston (90-41) has lost five of seven. “We’ve been good on getaway days and day games,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “It would be a good day to put everything together, finish strong and turn the page in this stadium.”HOMER HAPPYKendrys Morales has homered in six consecutive games http://www.padresfanproshop.com/authentic-eric-hosmer-jersey , tying Jose Cruz Jr. (2001) for the Blue Jays record, heading into their series finale against Philadelphia. Morales, with seven home runs during his streak, matched St. Louis first baseman Matt Carpenter for the longest run in the majors this season. The big league record of eight games in a row with a homer is shared by Dale Long, Don Mattingly and Ken Griffey Jr. The slumping Phillies have lost 17 of their past 21 meetings with Toronto, including six straight north of the border.NEW YORK BAGELSThe last time the Nationals faced Mets left-hander Steven Matz, they hammered him for seven runs in the first inning on the way to a 25-4 romp. Washington could have used some of those runs the last three games — all shutout losses. The Nationals will try to end their record skid of offensive futility at Citi Field. They haven’t scored since Ryan Zimmerman’s walk-off homer Wednesday night. Not since they were the Montreal Expos and were shut out in three straight by the Florida Marlins in 2004 — all three games were played in Puerto Rico — had the franchise been held down like this. The Expos moved to Washington the next season.THEN AND NOWInducted into the Hall of Fame last month, longtime Detroit shortstop Alan Trammell will have his No. 3 retired by the Tigers in a pregame ceremony. After that, touted rookie Michael Kopech takes the mound to make his second major league start for the Chicago White Sox.TRACK RECORDIn four games since he joined the Chicago Cubs in a trade with the Nationals, Daniel Murphy is 7 for 19 (.368) with two homers and five RBIs. He’ll try to go deep in a third straight game for the Cubs, who have 17 homers in their past 10 games. Success at Wrigley Field is nothing new for Murphy, who is batting .407 in 31 career regular-season games there — all but three of them before he joined the Cubs. Chicago is hoping Murphy can recapture the form of his postseason run with the Mets in 2015, when he went 9 for 17 (.529) with four homers in a four-game NLCS sweep of the Cubs.END OF THE ROADGiants catcher Buster Posey will undergo season-ending hip surgery Monday in Colorado, ending what has been a painful and frustrating year for the six-time All-Star. The 31-year-old Posey has been playing in pain and is hitting .284 with only 41 RBIs and five home runs — his fewest since 2011, the year before he won the NL MVP award. … Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (bone spurs in both heels) will not play at all this season. Tulowitzki had surgery on both feet at the start of the regular season. The five-time All-Star hasn’t played since July 2017, when he seriously injured his right ankle in a collision at first base.