Rays 4, Athletics 1: Carlos Pena homered, doubled and drove in two runs to lift resurgent Tampa Bay over host Oakland in the rubber game of the series.

Alex Cobb (5-8) pitched seven strong innings, allowing one run on four hits while striking out six and walking one to snap a three-start losing streak.

Joel Peralta worked a scoreless eighth before Fernando Rodney secured his 31st save to help the Rays win for the fourth time in five games and pull within 1 1/2 games of the Athletics for the second American League wild card spot.

Ryan Roberts had two hits and an RBI and Matt Joyce added a run-scoring single to lift Tampa Bay into a tie with Baltimore for second place in the AL East, 6 1/2 games behind the New York Yankees.

Jarrod Parker (7-5) allowed three runs on eight hits in six innings as Oakland lost for the third time in four games.

Brandon Inge's fifth-inning homer accounted for the only run for the Athletics, who managed only eight hits in the final two games of the series.

Pena, who entered the game batting .195, doubled in a run in the sixth before launching his 15th homer in the eighth to give him a team-leading 46 RBIs.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Rays released DH/OF Hideki Matsui on Wednesday. The 38-year-old Matsui, who was designated for assignment on July 25, batted only .147 with two homers and seven RBIs in 34 games. ... Oakland CF Coco Crisp missed his fourth straight game with a strained left hamstring but Oakland manager Bob Melvin said he saw considerable progress in Crisp on Wednesday. ... Pena's homer was his 20th in 75 games against the Athletics. ... Athletics OF Josh Reddick went 0-for-4 to extend his hitless streak to a career-worst 0-for-21. ... Inge's homer was the first allowed by Cobb to a right-handed batter in the majors.