MLB: Tampa Bay 6, Oakland 0

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., July 10 (UPI) -- Jeff Niemann threw his second shutout of the season Friday, holding Oakland to six hits and leading the Tampa Bay Rays to a 6-0 win over the Athletics.

Niemann (8-4), who had made only two starts in his major league career prior to this season, helped the Rays win their ninth straight home game.

Niemann struck out six and walked three to bounce back from his first loss in a month last Saturday, when he lasted only three innings in an outing against Texas.

Tampa Bay scored a single run in four of the first six innings, one of them on Carlos Pena's 24th homer in the fourth. The Rays added two in the seventh on a home run by Evan Longoria and an RBI double from Pat Burrell.

Rookie Vin Mazzaro (2-5) suffered the loss. He was charged with two runs on seven hits in five innings.

Oakland has dropped three in a row.