Oakland @ Tampa Bay preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 5, 2011 ) Oakland 4, Tampa Bay 8

THE STORY: The Tampa Bay Rays may have found the secret to scoring runs at home. The Rays lead the American League in runs scored on the road and - until the last three games - were last in scoring at Tropicana Field. Tampa Bay has registered 24 runs during its three-game win streak, their first since late June. The Rays hope to keep it going with rookie Alex Cobb on the mound Saturday night against the visiting Oakland Athletics. The Rays are 27-26 at home. The Athletics have lost four straight and 30 of their last 37 on the road.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, CS California (Oakland), SunSports (Tampa Bay)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Athletics RH Brandon McCarthy (4-5, 3.58 ERA) vs. Rays RH Alex Cobb (3-1, 2.79).

McCarthy has won three straight decisions, including a victory over the Rays when he allowed one run over eight innings. He has 69 strikeouts and 16 walks in 100 2/3 innings. McCarthy is 2-2 lifetime against Tampa Bay with a 3.57 ERA over 40 1/3 innings. Kelly Shoppach is 3-for-6 with two homers and Casey Kotchman is 6-for-12 against McCarthy. Cobb suffered his first loss in his last start, allowing three runs over 6 1/3 innings against Seattle and throwing a career-high 105 pitches. He has given up three or less runs in the seven starts since his major-league debut. Cobb, who has never faced Oakland, has 33 strikeouts and 17 walks in 48 1/3 innings.

ABOUT THE ATHLETICS (49-63): Cliff Pennington (Bell’s palsy) and David DeJesus (sore thumb) returned to the lineup and each got a hit, but the Athletics could only manage four through the first eight innings. Hideki Matsui extended his hit streak to 13 games with a homer and a single. He is 27-for-51 in that stretch with three homers, 11 RBIs and 12 runs scored. Coco Crisp also had a homer Friday and is 11-for-30 in the last eight games. Rookie second baseman Jemile Weeks, who is from Orlando, is struggling a bit, going 10-for-53 the last 12 games.

ABOUT THE RAYS (59-52): Tampa Bay’s offensive explosion is not limited to the last three games. The Rays have scored 50 runs in their last six victories after starting their last road trip with only one win in six games. Players have taken turns leading the way. Kotchman is 12-for-29 the last seven games and Ben Zobrist has 14 RBIs in 12 games. Desmond Jennings is batting .346 in 13 games since being recalled. B.J. Upton is 7-for-16 in August and has been on base seven straight times with five hits. Evan Longoria has four RBIs the last two games, but is 5-for-44 over the last 12.

FINAL PITCH: The Rays have gone eight games without committing an error. Only one team in the majors has made less errors than Tampa Bay (52) - the Chicago White Sox (49). Oakland has 90. Kotchman has made only one error at first base.