OAKLAND -- The way Wander Franco leaped at Daulton Jefferies’ third-inning pitch and drilled it into right field for a single, one might have thought he was a kid set free on a playground. Which, in a way, he was.

Scratched from Tampa Bay’s lineup a day earlier with a sore right hamstring, Franco rapped two hits to contribute to the Rays’ 6-1 triumph Monday night over the A’s at the Coliseum. The affair was lopsided in more ways than one: The Rays, who lost three of four games to Oakland from April 11-14, amassed all of their runs and hits in the first five innings. Yandy Díaz set the tone by opening the game with his second homer of the season.

Franco, the Rays’ richly talented 21-year-old, helped steer the outcome in Tampa Bay's direction by singling in the third and fourth innings and helping Tampa Bay score twice in each frame. The Rays, losers of their previous two games, particularly welcomed Franco's presence.

Franco initially reported discomfort in his hamstring while taking batting practice Sunday. With Franco's health in mind, Rays manager Kevin Cash removed him from the game before the ninth inning.

"It's something I'm going to have to manage and he's going to have to manage," Cash said.

Franco has heard suggestions that he can preserve his health by reducing the intensity of his effort. That, he said, would be sheer blasphemy. "That's the way I've played since I was a kid," Franco said through interpreter Manny Navarro.

Manuel Margot also galvanized Tampa Bay's offense by collecting three of the 11 hits A's starter Daulton Jefferies (1-4) yielded in five innings. Margot doubled and scored in the fourth and doubled home a run in the sixth as part of his effort.

Tampa Bay's offense overshadowed a solid pitching performance, which limited Oakland to two hits. Drew Rasmussen (2-1) worked five innings and surrendered Oakland's lone run, on Chad Pinder's second-inning RBI single, before the bullpen took over.

"They hit a lot of balls hard and happened to find gloves," Rasmussen said.