Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland A’s, perhaps energized by a large and boisterous home crowd, scored five runs in the fifth and one in the seventh to notch their 13th win in their last 16 games by a score of 6-2.

A’s starter Chris Bassitt was not as sharp as he was last week when he received credit for his first win of the year. The Padres had a great opportunity in the third inning as they had the bases loaded with no outs, but failed to score. The A’s made two terrific plays on defense to snuff out runs and keep the game scoreless. The Padres’ veteran starter, Clayton Richard, mesmerized the A’s for the first five innings before this team, so confident that they can overcome any deficit, erupted for five runs and pinned the loss on Richard.

In the third inning, Bassitt walked leadoff hitter Freddy Galvis. Austin Hedges and Travis Jankowski followed with singles to load the bases with no out. Manuel Margot hit a slow roller back to Bassitt. Bassitt made a terrific play as he fell to his knees and was able to throw home to nail Galvis for the first out, The throw from Jonathan Lucroy was not in time to nail Margot to complete the double play. The bases remained loaded. Eric Hosmer then hit a ground ball that was fielded by first baseman Matt Olson, who threw a strike to Lucroy at home for the second out. Bassitt struck out Wil Myers to end the inning.

The Padres, after threatening to score in the first and third innings, plated two runs in the top of the fifth. With one out, right fielder Travis Jankowski singled. Padres’ center fielder Manuel Margot followed with a single to send Jankowski to third. The next hitter, Eric Hosmer, hit a dribbler ball that A’s first baseman Matt Olson fielded. Olson’s throw to Bassitt was dropped, and Jankowski scored on the play.

A’s manager Bob Melvin challenged the call saying that Hosmer interfered with Bassitt’s ability to catch and hold onto the ball. The call was overturned, and Hosmer was called out. Margot went to second and scored on a double off the bat of Will Myers. Richard retired the A’s in order in the bottom of the fifth. The Padres led 2-0 after five innings.

The A’s offense–held in check for five innings by Richard–woke up and scored five runs on four hits. Chad Pinder walked to start the rally. Marcus Semien followed with a single. Richard walked Stephen Piscotty to load the bases with no out, and Richard now had to face the A’s best hitter Jed Lowrie. Lowrie sent the crowd into a frenzy when he doubled to left field to clear the bases. For Lowrie, it was his 25th double of the year and increased his RBI total to 59. Khris Davis singled to drive in Lowrie with the fourth run of the frame. Matt Olson hit into a double play, but the A’s were not finished scoring. Mark Canha extended his 10-game hitting streak to 11 when he blasted his 11th home run of the year into the bleacher seats in left field. Everyone in the park knew the ball was going out of the park as soon as it left the bat. The A’s led 5-0 after six innings.

The A’s tacked on a run in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Chad Pinder blasted the first pitch he saw from reliever Adam Cimber into the seats about 15 rows back of the “Rooted in Oakland” sign in left field. The Padres trailed the A’s 6-2 at the end of seven.

The A’s bullpen did the job again as the Padres were held scoreless the rest of the way. A’s manager Bob Melvin used Emilio Pagan, Ryan Buchter, Lou Trivino, and Blake Treinen to finish the game. Bassitt did not receive credit for the win as he went just 4 2/3 innings. He allowed seven hits and two runs. Emilio Pagan was the winning pitcher.

Game Notes: Chris Bassitt tied a season-high with six strikeouts. Mark Canha hit safely in his career-high 11th straight game. Emilio Pagan has not allowed a run in 16 of his 17 appearances since being recalled from Triple-A on May 18th.

The A’s are 33-0 when leading after seven innings. They are the only team in the MLB to do so. The A’s grounded into five double plays Tuesday night. The last time they did that and won was on June 2, 1973, in Boston.

The A’s are now 47-39 and are eight games over the .500 mark. The Padres dropped to 37-50. Richard’s record is now 7-8 for the year, and Pagan is 2-0.

Sean Manaea (8-6) will hurl for the A’s on Wednesday. The Padres have not announced their starter.

Time of game was two hours and 39 minutes and 29,975 fans enjoyed the Green and Gold win.

Up Next: The A’s and Padres will conclude their series on a Fourth of July Wednesday at 1:05 pm PDT.