Misner reaches milestone with first MLB hit in series finale

OAKLAND -- Kameron Misner wanted it to come a little sooner, but in the 15th official at-bat of his career, the Tampa Bay rookie poked a 100-mile per hour fastball from Oakland closer Mason Miller into center field for his first Major League hit.

The Rays' dugout responded with cheers as the ball was rolled in.

“It felt good,” Misner said after the Rays fell to the A’s 3-1 Thursday afternoon in the finale of a four-game series. “It came a little later than I wanted it to, but it felt good. It’s just cool knowing that there’s other guys on the team that want to see me get it as bad as I want to get it.

“As soon as I hit it, I was more worried about watching it drop than anything else.”

Said Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash, “Congrats to Kam for sure. I know he’s been wanting [this] for quite some time, so hopefully that relaxes him a little bit. That first one is special, something you’re never, ever going to forget.”

There weren’t a lot of other highlights as the Rays had to settle for a split. Tampa Bay is seven games behind the Twins and Royals for the final Wild Card spot and have 35 games to try to make a run.

“I don’t think we should accept splits. That’s not the standard that we’ve set, but that’s what we did. We’ve got to do a better job of finding ways to score runs for sure,” Cash said. “For us to get back in the thing, we’ve got to really get hot.”

The Rays managed just six hits against six Oakland pitchers. Osvaldo Bido went five-plus to get the win, allowing just two hits. They came in the fourth when Christopher Morel had a one out single, went to second on a wild pitch and scored on Jose Caballero’s double. Taylor Walls grounded back to Bido to strand Caballero.

Tampa Bay got two on in the sixth and seventh innings but couldn’t break through. In the ninth, Misner got his hit with one out. But Miller rebounded to strike out pinch-hitter Junior Caminero and get Yandy Díaz to hit into a force play.

Morel had two hits on the afternoon to pace the offense. He came into the game hitting .147 since joining the Rays.

“I think so,” Morel said through a translator when asked if the two-hit day could be the start of an offensive renaissance. “It’s starting to feel a little bit easier, a little bit lighter. I’m definitely putting in the effort to help this team.”

The Rays scored just six runs in the four-game series. That left little margin for error for the pitching staff. Jeffrey Springs gave up all three runs on seven hits in just 3 1/3 innings on Thursday.

“Overall, not very good execution [by me],” Springs said. “Falling behind, way too many deep counts, way too many walks. Just not in zone, not competitive enough.

“Just kind of one of those days.”

Next up is a three-game series in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. Despite being just a game over .500 (64-63), the Rays still believe they are a playoff team.

“Yes,” Morel said. “I think so. I’m always going to think that. I think everyone here, I have confidence in them, good vibes in here, good energy. I think we have the ability and the talent to be able to go far.”