Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jeremy Kahn

OAKLAND — Jonathan Lucroy ended the game with one swing of the bat when the Oakland A’s needed it the most.

Lucroy hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 11th inning, helping the A’s to a 4-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants before a sellout crowd of 56,310 at the Coliseum on Saturday night.

“Hard fought game,” said manager Bruce Bochy.

It was the second walk-off of the season for Lucroy, with his first coming on June 17 against the Los Angeles Angels and it was the seventh game-ending RBI of Lucroy’s career.

Things looked bleak for the Giants in the top of the ninth inning, as A’s closer Blake Treinen came to close it out; however, a funny thing happened on the way to the game ending.

Treinen was able to retire Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval, but then Alen Hanson reached on a wild pitch after he struck out with the game on the line.

Hunter Pence then tied up the game with a double down the right field line that easily scored the speedy Hanson from first base.

A’s manager Bob Melvin came out to argue that the Pence ball was interfered with in the bullpen area; however, after a 1:18 review, the play stood and the game was tied.

“It is a ground-rule, and Hanson scored easily,” said Bochy.

The A’s loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth inning, as Tony Watson gave up back-to-back singles to Matt Olson and Matt Chapman and then Reyes Moronta came on to replace Watson.

Moronta then got Chad Pinder to sacrifice Olson and Chapman to second and third, and then after an intentional walk to pinch hitter Nick Martini, Moronta then got Marcus Semien to ground into an inning-ending double play.

Andrew McCutchen drew walk against Treinen in the top of the 10th inning with one out, but Treinen struck out both Brandon Crawford and Buster Posey to end the inning.

Madison Bumgarner gave up four walks and a base hit in the bottom of the fifth inning that gave the A’s a 3-1 lead on the Giants.

Olson led off the fifth with a single, then Chapman, Chad Pinder, Josh Phegley and Marcus Siemen all walked against Bumgarner and that was the end of the night for the left-hander.

“First four innings, I was cruising and then in the fifth, I could not find the corner,” said Bumgarner.

Phegley’s walk tied up the game, then Semien’s walk gave the A’s lead for the first time and after Bumgarner was lifted for Sam Dyson, Mark Canha grounded into a double play that scored Pinder with the final run of the inning.

“Dyson kept it close for us,” said Bochy, as the reliever went two innings, and allowed a walk and a strikeout before being replaced by Ray Black in the top of the seventh inning.

The combined five walks in the fifth inning are the most in an inning for the Giants since they walked five in the bottom of the fourth inning against the Cincinnati Reds on July 3, 2007 at Great American Ballpark. Barry Zito allowed the five walks in that fourth inning, a game that the Giants would lose 7-3 to the Reds.

Bumgarner went just four innings, allowing three runs on two hits, walking six and striking out and he did not fare in the decision. The streak of 89 consecutive starts that Bumgarner went at least five innings came to an end, the 89 consecutive starts were a major league high.

The six walks by Bumgarner were a career-high, as he gave up five walks four times in his career, with the last time coming against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 4, 2016 at Miller Park.

Brandon Belt returned from the paternity list after the birth of his son August (Augie), and hit his 14th home run of the season in the top of the fourth inning to give the Giants a 1-0 lead.

The Belt home run was the first hit that the Giants got off of Trevor Cahill on the evening, and was just the second runner that Cahill allowed to reach prior to the sixth inning, which was the end of the line for Cahill.

In all, Cahill went 5.2 innings, allowing just one run on two hits, but he did not fare in the decision.

Cahill got into a jam in the top of the sixth inning, as he gave up a leadoff single to Hunter Pence, then Cahill regrouped to strikeout both Gorkys Hernandez and Steven Duggar consecutively. Unfortunately, Cahill then walked to load the bases and Cahill’s night was done and Ryan Buchter came on to replace Cahill.

Buchter then was able to get Crawford to strikeout to end the inning and the threat for the Giants.

Crawford made the defensive play of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, as he ran from his position at shortstop to make a running catch off of foul ball from Olson. Pablo Sandoval was in the shift, and nowhere near third base and Crawford reached out to make the running catch in the Coliseum’s very deep foul territory.

In the bottom of the 11thinning, Crawford made another great defensive play, as he slid to catch an Olson fly ball that would have easily fallen in for an easy double for Olson with one out.

As fate would have it, Will Smith then gave up back-to-back singles to Chapman and Pinder and then Lucroy ended it with a single.

Pence got the Giants within one in the top of the seventh inning, as he singled up the middle to score Posey easily from third base.

The Pence single came off of Leo Trivino, after he replaced Buchter with one out in the inning after Hanson hit a single that sent Posey to third base.

All in all, Pence went 3-for-5 at the plate, including that double in the top of the ninth inning that tied up the game.

“Nice game by Hunter,” said Bochy.

Trivino was able to get out of the jam, as he struck out Hernandez and then was able to get Duggar to ground out to Jed Lowrie at second base to end the inning.

Treinen came on in the top of the ninth inning, and was unable to pick-up his 25thsave in 28 opportunities. In all, Treinen threw 44 pitches, the most by the reliever since April 18 against the Chicago White Sox and it was the sixth time in his career that he threw 40 or more pitches in a game in his career that spans 254 games.

NOTES: Ryder Jones was optioned back to Sacramento after Belt was activated from the Paternity List to the game.

Belt’s newborn’s full name is August “Augie” Kyle Belt, and he joins older brother Grayson, who will be four years old in August.

The baby is named after Belt’s former head coach at the University of Texas, the late Augie Garrido, whom Belt played for in 2008 and 2009.

Garrido, who passed away in March of 2018 was the winningest coach in NCAA Baseball history until current Florida State Head Coach Mike Martin passed him. The veteran coach led both Cal State Fullerton and Texas to the College World Series 15 times, winning five of them for the Titans and Longhorns.

The 56,310 in attendance broke the record of 55,989 that packed the Coliseum on June 26, 2004, when the A’s’ defeated the Giants 8-7 in 10 innings, when Marco Scutaro singled in Bobby Kielty. Octavio Dotel picked the win for the A’s, while Jim Brower took the loss for the Giants. This was also the largest crowd in the Major Leagues during the 2018 season.

UP NEXT: The Giants and A’s will meet again Sunday afternoon at 1:05 pm PDT.

Johnny Cueto looks for his fourth win on Sunday afternoon, as he takes the mound for the Giants in the last regular season meeting against the A’s this year. Sean Manaea will go for the A’s, as he looks for his 10th win of the season.