Player of the gameDrew RasmussenTBA5.0ip 4h 0er 3k
The Rays are one step closer to the AL East crown. There wasn't just one thing that stood out in Tampa Bay's 10-1 victory over the A's at Tropicana Field on Thursday. Here are six -- yes, six -- numbers that detailed this latest triumph at the Trop. **6:** This could stand for a number of things. The win was their sixth straight. It came in large part due to a six-run inning, and that frame featured a contribution from the newly activated Taylor Walls -- who wears No. 6. Big knocks from lefty batters Chandler Simpson and Richie Palacios against A’s southpaw and former Ray Jeffrey Springs highlighted that fourth inning, one in which the Rays sent 10 batters to the plate. With one out and the bases loaded, Simpson lined a two-run single to center to get Tampa Bay on the board. After Ryan Vilade was hit by a pitch to reload the bases, Palacios lined a ball past right fielder Lawrence Butler. Two runs scored on the double, and Vilade dashed for the plate once the throw home skipped away from catcher Jonah Heim. Springs wasn’t watching the play as Vilade slid head-first onto the unoccupied dish and Palacios moved up to third. Palacios then scored after Walls put a perfect bunt down along the third-base line for an infield single. “A lot of big at-bats that inning, for sure,” manager Kevin Cash said. **.311:** Simpson went 2-for-5 on the afternoon with two runs scored, two RBIs and two stolen bases. His AL-leading 55th multi-hit game boosted his average to .3107, putting him just behind Houston’s Yordan Alvarez (.3114) for the AL lead in batting average. But while Houston’s slugger has scuffled at the plate of late, Simpson is batting .356 over the past three months. He’s not one to really put the spotlight on himself, but other Rays are more than happy to praise the second-year speedster.
