ST. PETERSBURG (620 WDAE) -- The Tampa Bay Rays hit five home runs, while Alex Cobb allowed just a single run in six innings in a 13-4 beatdown of the Oakland A's Friday night at Tropicana Field.
Steven Souza Jr. launched a three-run homer off Oakland starter Andrew Triggs in the first to get Tampa Bay on the board, his 11th, and would be followed by a two-run homer in the fourth by Mallex Smith, his first as a member of the Rays, a solo shot later in the inning by Logan Morrison (his team-leading 17th), then a solo homer from Tim Beckham off reliever Zach Neal is the fifth, his tenth, and a three-run blast by Corey Dickerson, also in the fifth, his 14th of the year.
Jesus Sucre added an RBI double off Triggs in the second and an RBI single off Neal in the fifth, while Colby Rasmus had an RBI single off Triggs in the third.
Cobb put up five scoreless frames before allowing Oakland to get on the scoreboard in the sixth as Jed Lowrie doubled with two out and scored on a base hit by Khris Davis.
Ryan Garton allowed a run in the seventh on a solo homer to Stephen Vogt in the seventh and two more in the eighth thanks to an RBI double by Adam Rosales and a wild pitch, but Oakland wouldn't get any closer than nine runs, and Danny Farquhar worked a scoreless ninth to finish the game.
The win gets Tampa Bay back to a game over .500 at 32-31.
Tampa Bay will have an opportunity to take the series Saturday, as Tampa Bay will play the first scheduled doubleheader in Major League Baseball in nearly two decades. Erasmo Ramirez (3-1, 4.09 ERA) will get the start in the matinee, taking on Sonny Gray (2-2, 4.57 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 2:10, with coverage on WDAE beginning at 1:00 with The Inside Pitch presented by Sykes Lakeland. The nightcap, which will start 45 minutes after the first game concludes, will see Matt Andriese (5-1, 3.45 ERA) return from the disabled list, taking on left Sean Manaea (5-3, 3.81 ERA).