Photo credit: @Athletics

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The A’s beat the Yankees 8-2 at the Coliseum on Wednesday night to take two out of three and even the season series at three apiece.

The A’s had several legends in the ballpark. The A’s honored former greats Reggie Jackson, Dave Stewart, Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Rickey Henderson, Catfish Hunter, who was represented by his wife. Charlie Finley’s son Paul was in attendance for the Finley family.

The A’s sent Mike Fiers to take care of the pitching duties. The Yanks had an opportunity to do damage in the first inning. Fiers retired leadoff hitter Brett Gardner for the first out. Yanks’ DH Mike Stanton blasted a double to deep right center field. Fiers got Andrew McCutchen to fly out to center for the second out. Fiers walked the next two hitters, Aaron Hicks and Gary Sanchez, to load the bases. Fiers was laboring as his pitch count was now in the 20s. He now had to face the Yanks’ first baseman Luke Voit. Voit has been on a tear since being recalled from the minors as he has homered seven times in his last 12 games. Fiers retired Voit for the third out as he hit a ground ball to Matt Chapman. Chapman stepped on third for the force out. Fiers regained his composure and allowed the Yankees just one hit over the next five innings. A’s manager Bob Melvin allowed him to start the seventh. He walked the first batter Aaron Hicks and then Gary Sanchez took him deep for the Yanks’ only runs of the game.

The Yanks had their ace, Luis Severino, going for them. Severino came into the game tied for the most wins in the AL with 17. The Yanks were 22-6 in games started for Severino, but that didn’t faze the A’s one bit. They put six runs on the board in Severino 2 2/3 innings of work and sent him down to his seventh loss of the year.

The A’s put four runs on the board in the bottom of the first. Rookie Ramon Laureano started the rally with a solid double to left. Laureano went to third on a passed ball and scored on Jed Lowrie’s single. A’s DH Khris Davis doubled to right. Lowrie stopped at third. Severino uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Lowrie to score and Davis motored to third. First baseman Matt Olson doubled to left to drive in Davis with the A’s third run of the inning. Olson went to third on a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch.  It was a very strange inning that featured two passed balls and two wild pitches.

The A’s added two more in the third and one more in the fourth to take a 7-0 lead. Matt Chapman walked to start the third. Lowrie singled to met on at first and second. Both advanced a base when Davis’s ground ball to third was momentarily bobbled by Neil Walker. Davis was out at first. Both scored on Stephen Piscotty’s single. The A’s added another run after Chad Pinder singled. Josh Phegley walked to put men on at first and second with no out. Laureano reached on a fielder’s choice. Phegley was out at second, and Pinder moved to third on the play. Matt Chapman ground out to first on a checked swing and Pinder crossed the plate for the score.

The A’s plated another tally in the bottom of the sixth. Yanks’ reliever Luis Cessa retired the first two hitters he faced. Laureano then lined a double to right-center. Matt Chapman followed with a rocket past third baseman Neil Walker to drive in Laureano to give the A’s a commanding 8-0 advantage after six complete.

The Yanks finally put two on the board in the top of the seventh. Fiers walked the leadoff hitter to start the frame. Yanks’ catcher Gary Sanchez slammed Fiers’ pitch into the left-field seats to make it an 8-2 game. It was just the third hit of the game that Fiers had allowed. Melvin replaced Fiers with Yusmeiro Petit. Petit retired the first hitter, Gave up a single to Neil Walker but was able to get the next two outs to the end the Yanks’ seventh.

The A’s bullpen continued to shine as Lou Trivino set the Yanks down in order in the eighth and Cory Gearrin closed the door on them in the ninth. The A’s won their 84th game of the year.

Game Notes: With the win, the A’s improve to 84-57 and remain 3.5 games behind the first-place Houston Astros. The Astros beat Minnesota again on Wednesday. The Astros travel to Boston for three with the Red Sox and, hopefully, Boston can help the A’s gain ground on the Astros.

The Yanks lead the A’s by 3.5 games in the race for the first Wild Card spot in the AL. The Yanks are off on Thursday and then finish the West Coast swing with a three-game series with the Mariners. Then they play three in Minnesota and three in Toronto. Their last 12 games of the year consist of six with Boston, three with Baltimore, and three with Tampa Bay. The A’s will need help from these teams if they hope to finish either first in the division or first in the Wild Card race.

Mike Fiers was the winning pitcher, and he is now 11-6 for 2018. The A’s are now 60-0 when leading after the seventh inning. The A’s are 50-21 since June 16th which is the best record in baseball.

A’s hitting stars were Khris Davis and Ramon Laureano with two doubles each. Jed Lowrie had two singles.

The A’s line score was 8 runs, 11 hits, and no errors.

The Yanks’ line was 2 runs, five hits, and no errors.

Time of game was two hours and 53 minutes, and there were 21,001 fans watching the A’s continue their magical ride.

Up Next: The A’s welcome the Rangers for a three-game series starting this Friday at 7:05 pm PDT.