Rays and Athletics square off with series tied 1-1

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Oakland Athletics (23-34, fourth in the AL West) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (27-29, fourth in the AL East)  St. Petersburg, Florida; Thursday, 1:10 p.m. EDT  PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: Ro s Stripling (0-0); Rays: Shawn Armstrong (1-1, 3.91 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 30 strikeouts)  : LINE Rays -143, Athletics +121; over/under is 8 runs  BOTTOM LINE: Both the Tampa Bay Rays and the Oakland Athletics are looking for a series win with a victory on Thursday.  Tampa Bay has a 16-18 record at home and a 27 Jonas Valanciunas Jersey -29 record overall. The Rays are 10-4 in games decided by one run.  Oakland is 10-18 in road games and 23-34 overall. The Athletics have the 10th-ranked team slugging percentage in the AL at .381.  The teams meet Thursday for the third time this season.  TOP PERFORMERS: Isaac Paredes leads the Rays with a .296 batting average, and has 10 doubles, nine home runs, 24 walks and 30 RBI. Jose Caballero is 9-for-31 with three RBI over the past 10 games.  Abraham Toro has a .282 batting average to lead the Athletics, and has 12 doubles, a triple and five home runs. Brent Rooker is 11-for-39 with a home run and six RBI over the last 10 games.  LAST 10 GAMES: Rays: 3-7, .196 batting average, 4.05 ERA, outscored by 22 runs  Athletics: 4-6, .241 batting average, 3.71 ERA, outscored by seven runs  INJURIES: Rays: Josh Lowe: 10-Day IL (side), Zach Eflin: 15-Day IL (back), Jacob Waguespack: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Colin Poche: 15-Day IL (back), Taylor Walls: 60-Day IL (hip), Jeffrey Springs: 60-Day IL (elbow), Drew Rasmu sen: 60-Day IL (elbow), Shane McClanahan: 60-Day IL (forearm)  Athletics: Austin Adams: day-to-day (neck), Ro s Stripling: 15-Day IL (elbow), Esteury Ruiz: 10-Day IL (wrist), Darell Hernaiz: 60-Day IL (ankle), Alex Wood: 15-Day IL (rotator cuff), Paul Blackburn: 15-Day IL (foot), Joseph Boyle: 15-Day IL (back), Freddy Tarnok: 60-Day IL (hip), Luis Medina: 60-Day IL (knee), Sean Newcomb: 60-Day IL (knee), Ken Waldichuk: 60-Day IL (elbow), Trevor Gott: 60-Day IL (elbow)  The A sociated Pre s created this story using technology provided by and data from .  Kyle Anderson Jersey