By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, March 5, 2016

AP Photo: Oakland A’s catcher Josh Phegley gets a walk off solo shot in the last of the ninth with two outs for the tying run

MESA, Arizona – The 5,218 fans who came to Hohokam Stadium enjoyed a good look at the future of the Oakland Athletics in Saturday’s Cactus League exercise with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Eight of the Athletics’ top ten prospects, as evaluated by Baseball America, are on the 40-man roster – six of them in uniform for Saturday’s game, which ended in an 8-8 tie after nine innings, three hours and 39 minutes.

It was the Athletics’ first tie game of the spring after going 1-2 in their first three contests.

No. 1 prospect Franklin Barreto reached on an error and scored a run, No. 3 prospect Matt Chapman walked and scored a run, and No. 7 prospect Chad Pinter went 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI single.

Other prospects had good days as well. Andrew Lambo was 2-for-2 with a walk and an RBI, and Tyler Ladendorf drove in a pair of runs.

THE GAME
Reserve catcher Josh Phegley’s solo home run to left with two out in the bottom of the ninth tied the game at 8-8.

The Brewers surged ahead in the top of the ninth on a two-run homer by Yadiel Rivera off Oakland reliever Dylan Covey.

Oakland took a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning and pushed four runs across in the fifth. Eric Sogard and Carson Blair led off the inning with base hits, followed by an RBI single by Lambo. A walk to Chapman loaded the bases.

New Brewers pitcher Brooks Hall threw a wild pitch that allowed Blair to score, with Lambo and Chapman moving up a base. Pinder followed with a walk to re-load the bases, setting the table for Ladendorf, who laced a single to left, scoring Lambo and Chapman.

The A’s added an unearned run in the sixth when Barreto reached on an infield error and scored on a two-out single by Pinder.

Milwaukee made it close in the top of the seventh with a four-run rally, including a three-run homer by Andy Wilkins, and a solo shot to right by non-roster invitee Alex Presley. Both home runs were surrendered by Tucker Healy, whose pitching line was four earned runs on two homers and a hit by pitch in one-third of an inning.

Left-hander Rich Hill started for the A’s, working 1 1/3 innings. He gave up one earned run on two hits, struck out one and walked three. Ryan Brasier, Liam Hendriks, Raul Alcantara, Daniel Coulombe, Trey Cochran-Gill, Healy, Kris Hall and Covey all saw mound action for Oakland.

CACTUS NEEDLES: As an indication of the Cactus League’s growth over the last decade, this was the only exhibition game scheduled this spring between the Brewers and A’s. It’s the first time since at least 1986 (when such records were kept) that the two clubs had met only once in March. … The A’s have 62 players in camp, including 22 non-roster invitees. … The A’s next three CL games are against San Diego (Sunday), Kansas City (Monday) and Texas (Tuesday).

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