OAKLAND, Calif.— Jose Siri homered with two outs in the eighth inning to break up a scoreless pitchers’ duel and help Shane Baz earn his first victory in more than two years as the Tampa Bay Rays held off the Oakland Athletics 1–0 on Tuesday night.
Baz (1–2) allowed three hits, struck out four, and walked three over a career-best 7 2/3 innings to win for the first time since July 3, 2022, at Toronto. The right-hander missed the 2023 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
“It’s tough,” Baz said of his journey back. “You’ve got to take it one day at a time and just try and get better so when you do get back you give yourself the best chance to succeed. Definitely happy with that one.”
Siri’s solo drive to center field for his 15th home run chased Oakland starter Joey Estes (5–6), who hung tough battling Baz as the A’s drew 4,377 fans coming off shutouts in two of their previous three games.
Tampa Bay’s Edwin Uceta recorded the final four outs to finish the one-hour, 54-minute game and earn his first career save.
Baz was thrilled for catcher Rob Brantly, who made his first major-league appearance since playing one game for the New York Yankees on May 22, 2022.
They had worked together before at Triple-A Durham, N.C., so that provided comfort for both.
“That was really cool. That’s special,” Rays Manager Kevin Cash said. “Throwing a shutout is really tough, and we just threw a shutout combined with Edwin Uceta, as well, and Brantly certainly plays a big role in that. So happy for Brant that he was able to have the right fingers, and the guys were on board with what he was calling.”
Estes struck out five and allowed one run on three hits while also pitching 7 2/3 innings.
Oakland starters have given up only two runs over the past four games. The A’s lost for only the third time in their past nine games.
