Rays blast 3 homers, end skid with win over Athletics

Christopher Morel, Brandon Lowe and Junior Caminero each hit solo homers to help the Tampa Bay Rays record a 7-4 victory over the Athletics on Monday night at West Sacramento, Calif.
Chandler Simpson reached base four times on three hits and a walk and stole his 33rd base as the Rays racked up 15 hits and snapped a three-game slide. Caminero also had three hits and a walk and Lowe had two hits and two RBIs as Tampa Bay won for just the sixth time in its past 21 games.
Shea Langeliers went 3-for-4 with a homer and Tyler Soderstrom slugged a three-run blast for the Athletics, who lost for just the sixth time in the past 17 games.
Nick Kurtz went 1-for-4 with a bloop double to left in the ninth inning that dropped between two Tampa Bay defenders to extend his streak of reaching base to 26 straight games.
After Kurtz reached, Pete Fairbanks retired the next three batters for his 20th save of the season.
Tampa Bay’s Ryan Pepiot (8-9) allowed four runs and five hits over 6 1/3 innings. He struck out four and walked two.
The Athletics made a push in the seventh as Brent Rooker led off with an infield single and Langeliers singled with one out. Soderstrom then drilled a three-run blast to center to bring the A’s within 6-4 and finish Pepiot’s night.
But Tampa Bay got a run back in the eighth with two walks, Diaz’s infield single and Brandon Lowe’s sacrifice fly.
The Athletics’ Jeffrey Springs (10-8) gave up four runs and seven hits over 3 1/3 innings. He struck out two and walked one.
Tampa Bay jumped ahead in the second inning on a two-run single by Nick Fortes.
Josh Lowe’s sacrifice fly in the third increased the Rays’ lead to 3-0.
Morel led off the fourth with a homer to left center. He also went deep against Springs on July 1 in Tampa.
Langeliers got the A’s on the board when he led off the bottom of the fifth with a homer to center off Pepiot.
Tampa Bay increased its lead to 6-1 in the seventh when Brandon Lowe and Caminero began the inning with homers to center off Oswaldo Bido.