Photo credit: sfexaminer.com

By Morris Phillips

OAKLAND–The A’s had everything covered on Sunday. Sean Manaea took care of the pitching mound. Blake Treinen provided Manaea’s much-needed assistance. Marcus Semien made the defense sing, and the Oakland gloves golden. Bill from Pittsburg held down Section 216–and a whole bunch of other sections for that matter–with his foul ball dramatics. And Matt Chapman provided the late inning pop, with the game-winning home run in the eighth.

With that type of synergy, it’s hard to believe the Royals had a chance, or that the game was still up for grabs in the eighth inning.

The A’s 3-2 win gave them best type of series victory: three out of four over Kansas City, when they nearly settled for a 2-2 split. And if A’s baseball is about youth being served, then Chapman served ’em with his blast off reliever Jason Adam. But we digress, enough of Chapman, this story starts with Semien, and ends with Treinen.

“Chapman made a great swing, but that swing doesn’t get us the win if Marcus doesn’t make that play,” Treinen recounted.

“That’s about as good a play I’ve seen him make since he’s been here,” manager Bob Melvin said of Semien’s bang-bang diving snag of a hard hit ground ball of the bat of Salvador Perez that he then turned into an out at the plate with a snap throw across the diamond that nipped Whit Merrifield as he attempted to give the Royals the lead.

“To dive like that, get up and have to throw it off balance on the money like that, no legs underneath him…”