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 D¨ªaz 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.¡±