Rays' Longoria defends trying to bunt vs. Braden

A bunt against a guy throwing a perfect game might be considered a no-no to some, but 3B Evan Longoria did just that while leading off the fifth inning Sunday against A's LHP Dallas Braden.

"I didn't think so," Longoria said. "He didn't seem too upset by it either. Obviously, he understood what he had going. He had everybody off-balance. I figured I'd try to take the opportunity there, maybe it stays fair and we get a runner on. At that point, you're really not thinking about the guy's perfect game or no-hitter, you're just trying to get back into the game. It was a manageable game. Get somebody on and try and score."

The bunt rolled foul and Longoria eventually struck out.

Manager Joe Maddon liked what Longoria did, and said he would have liked it even if one of his players bunted in the ninth while trailing by four runs.

"Great, absolutely," Maddon said. "We're trying to score runs there, we're not just trying to permit him to go into the record books. Our intent is to win the game and if (Longoria) gets it down who knows what could have happened. So that's another of those unwritten rules that I'm not a subscriber to. If you want to prohibit it, just play your third baseman in. Both sides have the ability to do whatever they want. I believe if you're trying to beat the other team and that's your best way to do it then you do it."

Braden was good ...

While acknowledging Braden's spot in the record books - he's just the 19th pitcher in major-league history to throw a perfect game - Maddon cited some other factors that he felt contributed to the Rays' lack of offense: back-to-back day games in the middle of a nine-game, West Coast road trip and an offense that hasn't been very perky lately.

"Our energy was down, we did not have our typical energy for the day, we just looked flat from the beginning, and it just proceeded throughout the day," Maddon said. "Of course their pitcher had something to do with it, but I thought a lot of it was self-inflicted."

And the other guy

RHP James Shields allowed 11 hits and four runs (two earned) in what was an atypical game from him this season, especially on the road.

Shields allowed three hits each in the second, third and fourth innings, when the A's scored all their runs.

"They got base hits off me," he said. "They didn't really hit the ball hard, but they got the hits they needed to get, they got hits when it counted with runners in scoring position. I didn't pitch well."

A loss is a loss

The Rays seemed more upset that they lost Sunday and not how they lost.

"The thinking is it's one game," hitting coach Derek Shelton said. "Losing a game at the end of the year that costs you getting into the playoffs or losing a playoff game or a World Series game, that's the worst thing. But, it's one game. We move on from today. If we lose 15-10 or we lose 4-0, if we get a hit in the ninth, we still lose."

Howell progressing

LHP J.P. Howell played catch at 205 feet Saturday and all reports received by Maddon in Oakland said Howell came through it without any glitches. Howell will throw a bullpen Tuesday then throw live batting practice Friday.