Today's phrase, boys and girls? Back to Back. As in "back to back jacks". As A's pitcher Greg Smith was cruising through the Rays' lineup in the early innings, Emil Brown and Carlos Gonzalez connected in consecutive at bats in the second, giving Oakland a 2-0 lead, which held through the bottom of the fifth.

Smith held the Rays to a single hit to Iwamura, and in revenge, picked him off, as he has a tendency to do.

But in the 5th inning, the Rays showed that they too knew the power of the mysterious "Back to Back", when Johnny Gomes and Ben Zobrist themselves connected for a pair of home runs. The difference between the Rays and the A's in this case? Gomes did his with a man on base, as Carlos Pena tricked the umpires into thinking his bat was a third upper body limb.

Now, with five complete, the A's trail 3-2. As for back to backs... the only thing I want today is back to back wins!