ST. PETERSBURG -- In a game dominated by defense, the A’s were up to the task on Wednesday against the Rays at Tropicana Field.

Rangy catches in the outfield. Smooth picks in the infield. A heads-up play at home plate. The A’s defense, which has not been their strong suit this season, made a bunch of stellar plays on this night. They just didn’t make the best play in the team’s 4-3 defeat.

That was authored by Rays center fielder Jose Siri, who leapt into the air and reached over the left-center-field wall -- more than 400 feet away from home plate -- to rob second baseman Zack Gelof of what would have been a go-ahead two-run homer, ending the top of the ninth. As Siri pounded his chest in celebration, Gelof slammed his helmet on the infield dirt.

Siri then notched the game-winning single in the bottom of the inning against right-hander Michael Kelly, giving Oakland its second walk-off loss of the season.

“That was crazy,” A’s center fielder JJ Bleday said of Siri’s grab. “... That’s just bad luck at that point.”

Prior to Siri’s game-changing play, it was the A’s who were making the highlight reel on defense. Coming into Wednesday, the A’s ranked 28th in MLB with minus-14 outs above average. Only four players had a positive fielding run value. Their 40 errors were tied with the Marlins for the most in the Majors. However, 13 of those errors came during the club’s first five games of the season.

“We got off to a bad start the first week in a homestand with playing bad defense, and I think we've improved since then,” manager Mark Kotsay said.

Gelof made the first of many key defensive plays for Oakland when he made a sliding, backhanded pick on a chopper up the middle from Harold Ramírez to hold a runner at third base and keep the score tied at 1-1 in the fourth.

One inning later, Bleday made impressive catches on back-to-back hitters that again kept the score knotted. The first play saw him run 88 feet into the left-center-field gap to make a sliding grab and snare a possible extra-base hit from Richie Palacios. Then Yandy Díaz lined a ball with a 101 mph exit velocity toward right-center, but Bleday glided over 66 feet to end the fifth.

Bleday has spent time in center throughout his seven years as a pro, but he didn’t start playing there full-time until this season, his second with Oakland. Although he said center field is still “a learning process” for him, getting more reps this year has made him a better defender.

“I got drafted as an outfielder, but I played right field my whole career pretty much leading up into pro ball,” Bleday said. “It’s just getting ready to kind of get that first step and just being an athlete. I feel way more comfortable this year than I have in the past.”

“JJ is getting better and better,” Kotsay said. “What you want to see from young players, which we have on our roster, is improvement. I think since we've gotten him, the center field play has been improved. His instincts, his jumps have all gotten better.”

The A’s also threw three runners out at the plate, including their first caught stealing of home since 2019. It occurred with two outs in the sixth inning of a 2-2 ballgame. With Rays pinch-hitter Alex Jackson -- who’s now batting .032 on the year -- at the plate, outfielder Randy Arozarena broke for home. But A’s lefty reliever Scott Alexander -- with a little help from his teammates in the dugout -- was alert and made a spot-on throw to catcher Shea Langeliers to thwart Arozarena.

“Thankfully, the dugout yelled loud enough for Scott to step off, and he made a smart baseball play with Shea coming out to put the tag on him,” Kotsay said.

Despite a bevy of smart, skilled plays, the A’s were unable to secure consecutive wins for the first time since May 3-4.

“I thought we played great,” Bleday said. “A full nine innings. We just had some bad luck there toward the end.”