The Athletics had everything lined up Monday night.
Jacob Lopez gave them seven strong innings. The offense produced 10 hits. Zack Gelof homered in his return from the injured list, and the A’s carried a four-run lead into the eighth.
Then the bullpen unraveled.
Tampa Bay scored eight runs in the eighth inning, turning a 6-2 deficit into a 10-6 win over the Athletics at Sutter Health Park.
The loss dropped the A’s to 47-72 and wasted a strong outing from Lopez.
Lopez does his part
Yandy Díaz opened the game with a solo homer, but Lopez settled down immediately.
The left-hander allowed five hits and two runs over seven innings. He walked one, struck out five and threw 93 pitches.
Meanwhile, the Athletics answered quickly.
Jeff McNeil singled to open the first, and Tyler Soderstrom doubled him home. Then Soderstrom stole home as Carlos Cortes stole second, giving the A’s a 2-1 lead.
Lopez protected that advantage through the middle innings.
Tampa Bay scratched out another run in the seventh after Jonny DeLuca reached second on Jonah Heim’s throwing error. Still, Lopez finished the inning with the Athletics ahead 3-2.
Gelof makes an impact
Gelof made his return from the injured list count.
He led off the fifth with a 456-foot home run, his 12th of the season, giving the A’s a 3-1 lead.
Then he helped create a bigger cushion in the seventh.
Henry Bolte singled and Donovan Walton was hit by a pitch. Gelof followed with an RBI double before McNeil added a sacrifice fly.
Next, Jacob Wilson doubled home Gelof.
At that point, the Athletics led 6-2 and appeared positioned to build on their weekend series win in Boston.
The eighth falls apart
Instead, everything changed in the span of one inning.
Seth Johnson replaced Lopez to begin the eighth and faced four batters without recording an out. Díaz and Jonathan Aranda singled before Junior Caminero hit a three-run homer, cutting the lead to 6-5.
Johnson then walked Ryan Vilade and was removed.
José Suarez could not stop the rally.
DeLuca singled, Chandler Simpson followed with the game-tying hit and Taylor Walls delivered a two-run single that put Tampa Bay ahead 8-6.
By the time Suarez recorded an out, the damage was already severe.
Johnson and Suarez combined to record just one out while allowing six hits, two walks and eight runs.
Scott Blewett finally ended the inning, but not before Díaz added a sacrifice fly and Aranda drove home another run.
An inning that began with the Athletics leading by four ended with Tampa Bay leading by four.
Numbers that mattered
Gelof finished 2-for-4 with a homer, double and two RBIs in his return.
McNeil and Bolte also had two hits apiece, while Soderstrom went 1-for-5 with an RBI double and his second stolen base of the season.
The Athletics finished with 10 hits, but they went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Suarez took the loss and the blown save after allowing four runs in one-third of an inning. Johnson was also charged with four runs without recording an out.
Up next
The Athletics continue the series Tuesday against the first-place Rays.
Mason Barnett starts for the A’s at 1-2 with a 5.56 ERA and 36 strikeouts. Tampa Bay counters with Nick Martinez, who enters at 11-3 with a 2.65 ERA and 73 strikeouts.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. PT.
Related stories
Welcome to Dice City Sports — where we provide premium, exclusive, up-to-date news and analysis surrounding the Las Vegas sports scene. Follow along on social media, and check back for new articles daily!
Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Las Vegas Aces, Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
