by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Oakland A’s pitcher Kendall Graveman delivers in his first inning of work against the Baltimore Orioles at the Oakland Coliseum on Monday night

OAKLAND–The A’s Kendall Graveman pitched a very strong game again as the A’s beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-2 Monday night at the Oakland Coliseum. The Orioles led the AL East by just one game before the start of play Monday night. The race in the East became tighter as the Toronto Blue Jays won and moved into a virtual tie for first place with the Orioles. Graveman went seven full innings and allowed just one run and six hits. Ryan Dull pitched the eighth and gave up a solo homer to Manny Machado, and Ryan Madson retired the Birds to save the win for Graveman. After the game, A’s manager Bob Melvin said that Graveman had the Birds hitting the ball into the ground as his slider and cutter were very effective. The scoring summary follows below.

The Orioles scored the first run of the game in the top of the third. Graveman had retired seven in a row until J.J.Hardy singled with one out. Adam Jones and Hyun-Soon Kim singled to load the bases. The Orioles’ Machado hit a long foul down the first base line that A’s first baseman Yonder Alonso caught. Hardy tagged up and scored on the play. Jones and Kim moved up a base on the play. Graveman then retired Chris Davis to end the inning. The A’s tied the score in their half of the fourth when Stephen Vogt led off the inning with his ninth homer of the season. Vogt hit the ball about ten rows deep into the bleachers in right field. Khris Davis doubled but Gausman retired the next three A’s hitters to end the threat. The score is tied at one after four complete.

The A’s took the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Stephen Vogt walked to lead off the frame. Gausman retired the next two A’s hitters. Yonder Alonso singled to put men on at first and second with two out. Designated hitter Billy Butler singled to drive in Vogt with the second run of the game to give Oakland a 2-1 lead after six innings of play.

The A’s scored another run in the bottom of the seventh. Ryon Healy received a walk from the new Oriole pitcher, Logan Ondrusek, to get the rally going. Healy advanced to second on a ground out and then scored on a Stephen Vogt single. The A’s now lead 3-1.

The Orioles cut the deficit to one in the eighth when the Birds’ All-Star third baseman, Manny Machado sent a Ryan Dull fastball deep into the left-field bleachers for his twenty-fifth dinger of the year.  The A’s closer Ryan Madson set the Orioles down to preserve the win for Oakland.

Game notes- Kendall Graveman won his eighth game of the year, and his record is now 8-7. Oakland snapped a three-game losing streak but are 2-8 in their last ten games. Stephen Vogt drove in two runs with a homer and single and was the hitting star for Oakland. Ryan Madson recorded his twenty-third save of the season.

The Orioles’ Kevin Gausman lost for the eighth time on the road this year, and he is now 3-9 for 2016. All three wins have come at Camden Yards.

Game two of the four-game series will be played Tuesday night at the Oakland Coliseum. Zach Neal will pitch for Oakland, and lefty Wade Miley will pitch for Baltimore. Miley came to the Orioles at the trade deadline from the Seattle Mariners.

Update on Sonny Gray- Melvin said that an exam of Sonny’s forearm showed no structural damage and that surgery would not be necessary. Gray is on the 15-day DL. The A’s will use the veteran k]lefty Ross Detwiler Wednesday and Andrew Triggs will pitch on Thursday.

Time of game was two hours and twenty-nine minutes, and a sparse crowd of 10,407 watched the A’s win their forty-ninth game of the year.