By: Ben Leonard
Follow @ben___leonard

It was Fan Appreciation Day at the O.co Coliseum on Sunday — and the A’s delivered for their fans, unlike they have for most of the season.

Kendall Graveman pitched six brilliant shutout innings and the offense put up a seven-spot in the seventh inning to help the A’s avoid getting swept at the hands (Or fins? Stingers? Wings?!) of the Rays with a 8-2 win. 

There were only 19,425 fans in attendance, but those who came brought it with full force to help fuel the A’s victory. Even before Sunday’s game, Melvin lauded the Oakland fanbase:

“They’re awesome. They really are. They’re so supportive that you want to give each and everyone some time. You see shirts and t-shirts from long long ago and some newer stuff. Really, the theme is that they are A’s fans no matter who is in the uniforms. I am extremely honored to be able to manage this team for these people.. especially after a game like last night, they can really be uplifting and pick you up…They’re one of a kind fans that support the team no matter what.” 

After being stymied by Tampa Bay starter Jake Odorizzi, the A’s were happy to see a bullpen besides their own implode. Once Odorizzi was pulled after 6+ innings of one-run ball, the A’s rode eight hits for seven runs in the seventh inning to come back from a 2-1 deficit. Brett Lawrie tied the game with an RBI single, and then it hit the fan for the Rays. The A’s got the fans roaring after reaching base seven consecutive times, including three extra-base hits, one of them a bases-clearing RBI triple by first baseman Mark Canha. Eric Sogard broke the tie with a two RBI single, and before you knew it, the Rays were sunk back to the bottom of the ocean, or a 8-2 hole.

Reliever Sean Dootlittle praised the team’s ability to come back:

Their numbers might not totally reflect how resilient this team is, because this team has come back a lot this year…Man, they fight… It was awesome to see the way that they bounced back…I didn’t envision being the guy that started the scoring in the seventh, but they picked me up and got me off the hook…I thought it was awesome the way they passed it from one guy to the next…

But it wasn’t all so easy in the early going — Doolittle, freshly off the disabled list, had blown the A’s 1-0 lead that Kendall Graveman had held after six shutout innings. His control was off, walking two hitters and giving up a hit, and was charged with two runs.

Doolittle said he felt good, but noted that the energy and environment at the Coliseum wasn’t something he had been used to after months on the DL.  He hadn’t pitched with runners on base in his rehab stint, and wasn’t back to tip top shape.

Doolittle expressed optimism and after his outing on Sunday: “Obviously when you’re visualizing it for months over the rehab process, you picture it differently. When I came out I was happy with how I felt, but [once I got out there] the adrenaline was going really fast. No matter how much I tried to slow myself down, I was going a little too fast and my location was a little inconsistent. All that stuff is fixable. Already, that feeling that it’s cool to be back is gone and it’s time go get to work.”

Graveman was excellent, bouncing back from a rough patch after the All Star Break, in which posted a 7.00 ERA in six starts since the time off. He gave up just three hits, walking one and striking out three.

However, he was removed after just 84 pitches because of an oblique strain, which is of greater concern to the Athletics. Graveman said he felt it get hurt on the second-to-last pitch he threw. He will receive an MRI at the Coliseum on Monday.

In other news of injury importance, after returning to the lineup after missing a couple games with knee tendinitis, Danny Valencia appeared to tweak the same knee while chasing down a foul ball in the second. Earlier on Sunday, Melvin said he felt good enough to play, and is “willing to DH or do whatever he can to play on a day-to-day basis.” Melvin also didn’t know if he had dealt with this same issue in the past before.