A's Lose Second Game in a Row; Lose First Series in a Month

Edit 7:06 AM - Shot in the arm? According to Jeff Fletcher, Dan Straily is being called up by the A's today. Bullpen or right into the rotation? In either case, this is at least one reason why Beane was adamant about NOT moving him. Discuss! - cuppingmaster

Well, if you tuned in today for more exciting July baseball, you were sorely disappointed as the calendar changed to August, as the A's fall meekly to the Rays by the score of 4-1. The A's can ill-afford a slump at this point in the season; the timely homeruns and great pitching have carried them into the playoff mix, but the A's offense is still a major weakness; one that could easily just stop scoring runs.

The A's only run came on a solo homerun off the bat of Brandon Inge, one of only four hits today against the Rays' Cobb. They couldn't hit Peralta or Rodney very well, either. Jarrod Parker was not on his best game today, and neither was the A's defense. Parker would pitch six, allowing eight hits, three runs, and three walks in the loss. Yoenis Cespedes collected two hits in the loss, but the rest of the offense has gone stone cold.

With the series loss, the A's risk falling behind in the Division, but more concerning is the Wild Card races, where Baltimore, Detroit, Tampa Bay, Boston and Toronto are nipping at the A's heels.

The A's will try to turn things back around against the Toronto Blue Jays; the four game series starts tomorrow night.