'Competitor' Hill, defense do their part vs. A's

Rich Hill just keeps on shoving.

Hill went blow-for-blow with fellow lefty Sean Manaea in the Rays’ 2-1 loss to the A's on Friday night at Oakland Coliseum, tossing six scoreless innings in his latest exhibition of defiance against Father Time.

Manaea had quite the outing in his own right, taking a no-hit bid into the eighth inning until it was snapped by, rather appropriately, Mike Brosseau, who was teammates with Manaea at Andrean High School in Merrillville, Ind.

While the Rays avoided succumbing to a no-hitter, they couldn’t keep the A’s from storming the field in jubilation as Seth Brown launched a walk-off home run into the chilly Oakland night.

“He did a nice job of just making pitches and gave us everything, every opportunity,” said manager Kevin Cash. “Went kind of toe-to-toe with Manaea, who obviously was really, really tough tonight.”

With long man Michael Wacha on the injured list, the Rays rolled with Hill in a traditional starter role opposed to using him as an opener. If Wacha was available, Hill likely would’ve had a much shorter leash due to lack of early control.

The 41-year-old didn’t make things easy on himself to start the game. In each of his first three innings, Hill gifted the A’s leadoff batter a free base, either by way of a walk or hit-by-pitch. As a result, he worked almost exclusively out of the stretch in those early frames.

As the game developed, Hill found his feel, only allowing one batter to reach base in his final three innings and ending his night retiring seven in a row.

“It’s just the timing and getting consistency with the release point and just continuing to keep staying aggressive,” Hill said of his approach. “I preach that to other guys. I harp on that a lot. The more consistent we can be in that conviction behind every pitch, the little things will work [their] way out."

Like many other pitchers on Tampa Bay’s staff, Hill got some help from his brick wall of a defense:

• Willy Adames initiated a smooth double play on a grounder from the speedy Ramón Laureano, sprinting to the bag and firing to first in the third inning.

• Playing first base, Yandy Díaz made a diving stop of Matt Olson’s sharp grounder, scampering to the bag for the out.

• Manuel Margot denied Sean Murphy a leadoff single in the sixth with a slick sliding catch.

It was fundamental Tampa Bay baseball to a T, and it helped Hill keep the A's off the board while he was on the mound.

“That’s us. That’s how we win games, by playing really, really quality defense,” Cash said. “It’s fun to sit and watch these guys on a nightly basis do their thing.”

While watching Adames, Díaz, Margot and company make great plays was fun for Cash and company, watching Manaea deal certainly was not.

The lefty was perfect through six innings, and with every passing frame the reduced-capacity crowd grew more antsy, ready to witness history once again. Tampa Bay didn’t put a runner on base until the seventh inning, when Randy Arozarena drew a leadoff walk.

Much to the dismay of every fan in attendance, Brosseau roped an opposite field double to end the no-hit bid in the eighth, causing a collective groan to reverberate throughout the Coliseum. Manaea, deservedly so, received a standing ovation for his effort.

The Oakland faithful were further silenced when the very next batter, Mike Zunino, smacked a single up the middle, driving in Brosseau and notching the game up at 1-1. In a span of two batters, Manaea went from flirting with a no-hitter to losing the no-hitter to losing the shutout.

But that was all for the Rays on offense. They had a golden opportunity after chasing Manaea from the game, putting runners on first and second with one out, but neither Austin Meadows nor Arozarena got the big hit they needed. The Rays were held scoreless in the top of the ninth, and Brown sent the fans home happy with a walk-off homer against Jeffrey Springs.

In a sense, the game was an encapsulation of the Rays’ season thus far. Sensational pitching. Sturdy defense. Shaky offense. Until the bats heat up, inconsistent offense will likely continue to hinder Tampa Bay’s ability to click on all cylinders.

Still, the pitching staff continues to throw zeros on the board, and Hill has been right in the middle of that success. He continued to shove, and grunted his way to another vintage outing.

“He’s such a competitor,” Brosseau said. “He’s giving it everything he can every pitch, and when we see that on the mound, that just makes us play that much harder behind him because we know he’s giving us his all, so in return, we’re gonna do the same for him."