Perkins (2-9) took the loss Wednesday, surrendering seven runs (six earned) on 12 hits and a walk over five innings as the A's fell 8-4 to the Rays. He struck out two.
A four-run fourth inning, highlighted by a three-run blast from Liam Hicks, put the game out of reach for the A's. Parkins has been tagged for five or more earned runs in three straight starts, and since the beginning of July he's been saddled with a horrific 9.39 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 32:15 K:BB in 30.2 innings while serving up 10 long balls. With the A's out of the playoff hunt, however, there's little incentive to replace the 26-year-old righty in the rotation, and instead he'll likely be allowed to try and work things out at the big-league level. Perkins is scheduled to make his next start on the road early next week in Kansas City.