OAKLAND, Calif. -- As he walked off the mound with one out in the top of the seventh inning to a standing ovation Wednesday afternoon, Sonny Gray couldn't help but flash back to 2013, his first season with the Oakland Athletics.

Gray has been the subject of trade rumors for weeks, and he, as well his teammates and the fans, realized that he might have made his last career start at the Oakland Coliseum for the A's.

"It was nice," Gray said after the A's 7-2 victory against the Tampa Bay Rays. "I've had a lot of times coming off the mound, getting some nice ovations, a lot of cheers here. It took me back to 2013 a lot in those two playoff games. It was really nice. Whether it is or whether it's not, it's not up to me. But it did, it brought back a lot of memories. That was really nice."

Gray allowed two runs on seven hits over 6 1/3 innings and won his third straight game. He struck out six and walked two. Gray (6-4) had his fourth straight quality start and won for the fourth time in his past five outings.

After an injury-plagued, disastrous 2016 season and a rough start this season after yet another injury in spring training, Gray is back to being the ace he was almost from the moment he arrived in Oakland. Gray said he never doubted he'd regain his old form.

"I've always known how good I am, how good I've been and how good I'm going to be," Gray said. "You're going to go through moments in your life and moments in your career where you truly do get tested. It's a challenge and I love challenges. I love to take challenges head on and work through them and I love coming out the other side. That's something that I've always done."

Rays rookie right-hander Jake Faria (4-1) entered the game with a four-game winning streak and a streak of seven quality starts to begin his major league career. Both streaks ended with a thud. Faria allowed four runs -- all in the fifth inning -- on six hits over five innings. He walked four, struck out four and had two wild pitches.

Faria said he struggled throughout the game, falling behind hitters, before the A's erupted in the fifth.

"Eventually it's going to catch up to anybody that does that," Faria said. "Especially when my changeup was inconsistent for the better part of the game. I don't think it was just the fifth, but that's when it all finally imploded."

Tampa Bay won two of three games in the series, but the A's avoided being swept by the Rays in Oakland for the first time ever in 27 series.

Rays right fielder Steven Souza Jr., who has 20 home runs and 60 RBIs, strained his left hip in the top of the first inning while sliding into second base on a failed steal attempt and was replaced by Shane Peterson. X-rays were negative, and Souza, who had surgery on that hip in September, will be evaluated further when the Rays return to Florida.

"I went to slide and it was extremely muddy around second base," Souza said. "My leg got stuck in the ground and I just kind of felt a jump in my hip. That didn't feel very great, so I came out of the game. I feel better since it happened. I feel a lot better. It's hard to tell with these things. I tore my hip last year and felt fine for the next couple of days. I'm praying it's nothing. I don't think it's anything. I'm getting an MRI tomorrow and make sure it's nothing."

Matt Joyce hit his 12th home run of the season for Oakland, a solo shot in the eighth inning. Rajai Davis went 2-for-4 with a double, drove in a run and scored once for the A's. Yonder Alonso went 2-for-2 with an RBI, walked and was hit by a pitch in four plate appearances. Jed Lowrie had two hits, including a double.

Evan Longoria, Logan Morrison and Brad Miller each had two hits and doubled for the Rays.

The Rays broke through to score two runs off Gray in the fourth inning and take a 2-0 lead. Longoria led off with an infield single and went to third when Morrison lined a single to right.

Wilson Ramos singled off the right-center field fence, driving in Longoria and moving Morrison to third. Morrison scored to make it 2-0 when Miller grounded into a force out.

"To get out of it with just the two and then to be able to settle back in and put up some zeroes was big," Gray said.

Oakland scored four runs in the fifth inning to grab a 4-2 lead. Bruce Maxwell had a leadoff walk and moved to second with one out when Faria walked Jaycob Brugman on four pitches.

Rajai Davis brought Maxwell home on a ground-rule double to right, and Joyce drove in the speedy Brugman with a sacrifice fly to center. Davis scored on a wild pitch, giving the A's a 3-2 lead. Marcus Semien singled sharply to left, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on Alonso's single to center.

"It was huge," A's manager Bob Melvin said of Davis' double. "We got some big hits during the course of the game, but I don't know if any were bigger because we're getting shut out to that point. Right after that it got contagious."

NOTES: Rays LHP Blake Snell, who lasted only four innings on Tuesday night against the A's, will make his next scheduled start, manager Kevin Cash said. "I am confident that he will get it figured out," Cash said. ... Rays INF Rickie Weeks Jr. (right shoulder impingement) was scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Durham on Wednesday night. ... A's RHP Kendall Graveman (strained right shoulder) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Nashville and gave up four runs on five hits over 2 1/3 innings. He threw 46 pitches. ... A's INF/OF Chad Pinder (strained left hamstring) started at shortstop for Triple-A Nashville and went 0-for-2 with a walk in his second rehab game. Pinder went 1-for-5 with three strikeouts Tuesday as the Sounds' designated hitter. ... A's RHP Jharel Cotton (right thumb blister) allowed four runs on four hits, including a home run, over 3 1/3 innings in a rehab appearance for Triple-A Nashville. Cotton struck out six, walked two and threw 65 pitches.