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Friday, Sep. 8 10:05pm ET
Lidle, Creek combine for 2-hitter | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Cory Lidle's explanation was pretty simple: better mental approach, better outcome. The Tampa Bay pitcher entered Friday night's game with an 8.07 ERA in seven starts this season. But he looked nothing like that against Oakland, allowing just two hits in seven shutout innings to spark the Devil Rays to a 4-0 win. Lidle (2-5) pitched for the first time since being suspended for three games for taking part in a brawl against Boston on Aug. 29. He helped the Devil Rays beat Oakland for only the third time in their last 16 meetings. "I was a little too fine the first couple of innings, but I got away with it," Lidle said. "After that, my attitude was to just throw my good fastball and challenge them to hit it." The Athletics couldn't hit it very often. Jason Giambi, a former high school teammate of Lidle's in California, got the Athletics' only two hits. "Of the 85 pitches I threw, probably 60 of them were fastballs," Lidle said. "It's really a good feeling. This was a chance I needed to take advantage of, and I did." Tampa Bay manager Larry Rothschild said, "The quick outs and the ground balls he was getting tell you what kind of movement he had on his pitches. He gets into trouble when he tries to be too fine and not trust his sinker. But he just went out there and pitched tonight." Gil Heredia (14-10) pitched his second complete game of the season, both of which he has lost. He gave up only five hits and walked none. "I had a good effort, but their pitching staff really put it to us," Heredia said. "You've got to give them credit." Tampa Bay's Doug Creek completed the combined two-hitter, striking out the first four batters he faced for his first major league save. This was his 110th career relief appearance in the big leagues. Tampa Bay scored two unearned runs in the fourth and Greg Vaughn hit a two-run homer in the ninth. With two outs in the fourth, left fielder Adam Piatt nearly collided with shortstop Miguel Tejada and then dropped Vaughn's fly ball for an error, allowing a run to score. Vinny Castilla doubled to drive in Vaughn. "I got there and watched Miguel, and right when I looked up again the ball was right under me and I just dropped it," Piatt said. "That's all I can say. It was my ball all the way." Vaughn hit his 26th homer with two outs in the ninth. Game notesDevil Rays starters have a 3.66 ERA in their last 18 games. ... All of Tampa Bay's final 21 games are against teams with better than .500 records -- Oakland, Anaheim, Seattle, Toronto, New York and Boston. ... Oakland is just 18-19 in its last 37 games and 25-28 since the All-Star break. ... Heredia is 10-2 on the road and just 4-8 at home this season. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Tampa Bay Clubhouse Oakland Clubhouse RECAPS NY Yankees 4 Boston 0
Tampa Bay 4
Pittsburgh 3
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