ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Facing a pitcher who used to call Tropicana Field home, the Rays made Oakland starter Scott Kazmir feel quite comfortable over the first four innings of Friday's game, going 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

Kazmir, who entered the contest with a 5.64 ERA, seemed to have found his early-season mojo when he had gone 2-0 with a 0.99 ERA while holding opponents to a .158 batting average in four April starts. Rays third baseman Evan Longoria, though, turned the tide against his former teammate, smacking a three-run homer to left in the fifth inning to give Tampa Bay a 3-1 lead and eventual 5-2 victory.

"He was throwing the ball really well, and he was just throwing fastballs by guys early in the game," said Longoria, who had tallied just a single in eight career at-bats against Kazmir before Friday. "On the pitch that I hit out, it was two strikes and I was just trying to put the ball in play."

Kazmir, who lasted 5 2/3 innings, lost for the third time in four starts this month and fell to 2-3 on the season. The A's lost their fourth straight and have dropped eight of their last nine and 14th of the past 16 contests.

"Personally, I don't think we have that 'here we go again' mentality," said Kazmir, who has not won since April 13. "I feel like we're out there positive, thinking about the next play, thinking about the next at-bat and just going out there and fighting."

Rays starter Chris Archer scattered six hits over 5 1/3 innings while giving up only one run to earn his fifth win of the year. It is the second straight win for Archer (5-4), who had gone three consecutive starts without a victory until beating the Minnesota Twins in his last outing.

"That's what's nice about playing on a good team," said Archer, who had eight strikeouts. "Your teammates will bail you out, and the fact that our bullpen is the best in baseball, it's comforting. We stay in the moment so things that happen in the past, even if it's one pitch ago, we let it go and we move forward."

The A's went up 1-0 in the fourth inning when catcher Stephen Vogt, mired in a 7-for-41 slump, smacked a line drive into the right field seats for his 10th home run of the season. Vogt, who entered the contest ranked second in the American League in slugging percentage, has six homers in May.

The Rays failed to score in a third inning filled with passed balls, runners who the A's thought they caught stealing, balls thrown into the outfield, and double stolen bases. After catcher Rene Rivera was thrown out trying to stretch a single down the left field line into a double, the Rays had men in scoring position with center fielder Brandon Guyer on third and right fielder Steven Souza, Jr. on second, but Longoria hit a grounder to A's third baseman Brett Lawrie -- who threw out Guyer at home -- and left fielder Joey Butler struck out.

In the fifth, Guyer singled to left to lead off the inning and advanced to second on an error by A's first baseman Max Muncy during a sacrifice bunt attempt by Souza. Longoria then ripped a 1-2 pitch by Kazmir over the left field wall.

The Rays added to their lead in the seventh when Souza hit his seventh dinger of the season, a solo liner off A's reliever Evan Scribner that barely cleared the wall in left.

The A's, who left 12 men on base, added a run in the ninth on a sacrifice fly, but Rays closer Brad Boxberger entered the game with one on and two outs and struck out Vogt to earn his 13th save of the season.

"That's where we're struggling right now," A's manager Bob Melvin said when asked about not taking advantage of runners in scoring position. "We were talking about it yesterday. We were really good, the better part of the season up until probably the last 10 days or so. We're getting guys on; we're just not getting big hits and we make an error, and it blows up on us."

NOTES: Rays LHP pitcher C.J. Riefenhauser (shoulder) and INF Ryan Brett (shoulder) will begin rehab assignments with Class A Charlotte StoneCrabs on Sunday. ...As expected the Athletics placed OF Coco Crisp on the 15-day disabled list following Friday's game. Crisp suffered a neck injury on Tuesday night while trying a diving catch in Oakland's 6-1 loss in Houston, They added RHP Kendall Graveman, who will start Saturday's game against the Rays. … Athletics RHP Edward Mujica, who left Thursday's game with two outs in the seventh inning after being hit by a come-back grounder off his pitching hand, was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a fractured right thumb. The A's replaced him on the roster with INF Andy Parrino from Triple-A Nashville. They also recalled 2B Tyler Ladendorf (ankle) from Nashville and placed him on the 60-day disabled list. ...Former Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington was hired as a coach on Thursday to help the struggling Oakland A's defense and arrived in St. Petersburg on Friday.