Osvaldo Bido struck out six batters in five innings and won his third consecutive start, leading the Oakland Athletics to a 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday.
Lawrence Butler, Miguel Andujar, and Darell Hernaiz each had two hits, helping Oakland even the four-game series.
Bido (5-3) has been one of the A’s standout pitchers for the past two months and delivered another strong performance against the Rays. He allowed one run and two hits while matching the longest winning streak by an A’s starting pitcher this season. JP Sears and Mitch Spence have also won three straight starts.
“He has been on a good run and he seems to be getting more confident,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said, mentioning that Bido has been working on changes to his pitching mechanics.
“I tip my cap to Bido for making those adjustments and being able to repeat them.
I think that’s why we’re seeing the success we are.”
After walking two of the first three batters he faced, Bido retired nine in a row and extended his scoreless streak to 18 innings before José Caballero’s RBI double in the fourth inning.
“I’ve just been working a lot and making my adjustments,” Bido said through an interpreter. “I’m just trying to keep going. I’ve been getting good results and we just keep working.”
Five A’s relievers combined for four scoreless innings. Mason Miller pitched the ninth for his 20th save, the third-highest by a rookie in team history.
Christopher Morel had two singles and Kameron Misner got his first major league hit for the Rays.
The A’s scored twice off Rays starter Jeffrey Springs in the second inning. After Butler and Tyler Nevin started the inning with back-to-back singles, Zack Gelof drove in Butler with a sacrifice fly, and Hernaiz followed with an RBI double to left.
