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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Matt Andriese had five stints in the majors as a rookie last season, shuttling between the Tampa Bay Rays and Triple-A Durham, between spot starts and the bullpen. So when he got the call for his season debut last weekend, his goal was to stay in the bigs. Two starts later, it's hard to imagine him pitching better.
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Andriese threw a two-hit shutout Saturday, leading the Rays to a 6-0 win over the Oakland Athletics at Tropicana Field.
"When I got called up for my last start, I told myself I want to be here for good," he said. "I've been taking that mentality and building off each outing."
After allowing one run in seven innings in a win against the Angels six days earlier, Andriese (2-0) is tied with Chris Archer for the most wins by a Rays starter, and yes, earning the right to stick around a while.
"Outstanding performance by Matt Andriese," said manager Kevin Cash, who had only one pitcher toss a complete game in his first 195 games with the Rays. "Something we definitely needed. ... Just had everything going."
Andriese limited Oakland (15-22) to one hit in the first five innings, then saw the second hit erased immediately by a double play in the sixth. He has two wins in six days. Meanwhile, the Rays' top four starters have combined for four wins in 30 starts this season.
"Pretty good mix of pitches, and he's got some deception," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said after the right-hander faced two more than the minimum. "Good curveball, good cutter, both sides of the plate, good changeup. ... He pitched well, for sure."
Tampa Bay (16-18) got a two-run homer from shortstop Brad Miller, then padded the lead with two runs in the sixth to chase Oakland starter Kendall Graveman (1-5).
After allowing a single and a double off the glove of third baseman Danny Valencia, Graveman intentionally walked Logan Morrison -- hitting .125 with zero RBIs in 80 at-bats this season -- to load the bases. Tampa Bay got a sacrifice fly from Steve Pearce and a two-out RBI single from Kevin Kiermaier to extend the lead.
"I got a lot of ground balls," said Graveman, who has allowed at least four runs in four straight starts. "Miller did a good job going down to hit the home run. That pitch was down out of the zone, a good piece of hitting. In the sixth, got a couple of ground balls and they just didn't hit it at 'em."
Oakland walked the bases loaded for the Rays in the eighth and Brandon Guyer delivered a two-run, two-out single for the final runs.
The Athletics were shut out for the first time this season and held to a season low with two hits.
Graveman also was in control of the Rays early, allowing only one hit until the third. Guyer doubled down the left-field line, then came home on a two-run homer by Miller, his fifth of the season, for a 2-0 lead.
The Rays had a leadoff triple in the second from Corey Dickerson, and Graveman followed with two walks to load the bases with no outs but got out of the jam when Pearce lined out to third and Kiermaier hit into a double play on a line drive to left.
Andriese, used as a starter and reliever last season, pitched well and got a break on the opening batter of the game. Billy Burns appeared to hit a foul ball, as replays later showed the ball bounced and hit him in the leg while he was still in the batter's box, but he thought it was a foul ball and didn't run. Andriese tagged him out while he stood behind home plate.
The play was not reviewed, despite the replay showing what should have been a foul ball.
NOTES: The Rays put 2B Logan Forsythe on the 15-day disabled list because of a hairline fracture in his left shoulder, sustained when he was hit by a pitch on Monday in a loss to Seattle. Forsythe, the leadoff hitter who ranks second on the team with a .308 batting average, is expected to miss at least a month with the injury. Rather than continue using Tim Beckham (.135) at second, the Rays shifted 1B Steven Pearce to second and had Logan Morrison (hitting .127) at first. ... A's C Matt McBride, promoted from Triple-A Nashville a day earlier, made his A's debut. He played parts of three seasons in the majors with the Rockies. ... Five of the nine batters in the Rays' starting lineup were hitting .210 or worse entering the game.
