Photo credit: @atleticos

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — On a very lovely Thursday at the Oakland Coliseum, the A’s beat the Minnesota Twins 7-2 to win the three-game series 2-1. A’s shortstop Marcus Semien was the hero as he blasted two home runs and drove in five to lead the A’s to a 7-2 victory.

A’s starter Tanner Anderson was looking for his first win of the season, but it didn’t happen for him as he was removed from the game with two out in the fifth inning. He was replaced by Wei-Chung Wang. The young Taiwanese lefty was the winning pitcher and earned his first major league win.

The Twins drew first blood in the top of the first with an unearned run. Tanner Anderson retired the first two hitters he faced. He gave up singles to Nelson Cruz and Luis Arraez. He walked Miguel Sano to load the bases. The next hitter, Ehire Adrianza, was awarded first base when A’s catcher Chris Herrmann interfered with his swing. Herrmann was charged with an error. Cruz trotted home with the Twins’ first run.

The A’s tied the game in the bottom of the fourth. A’s DH Khris Davis led off with a single. Twins’ starter Jose Berrios retired the next two hitters. Robbie Grossman and Chris Herrmann each singled. Herrmann’s single allowed Davis to score. The score was 1-1 after four.

The tie didn’t last long as the Twins put their second run of the game on the board in the top of the fifth. Nelson Cruz, who loves to torment the A’s, led off with a double. Cruz went to third on a wild pitch. Anderson retired the next two hitters. He did not get by Ehire Adrianza who singled to drive in Cruz. Jonathan Schoop followed with a single, and that ended Anderson’s day. A’s manager brought in Wei-Chung Wang to pitch. Wang got Jason Castro to fly out for the final out of the inning. In the A’s half of the fifth, they were able to grab the lead 3-2. Marcus Semien led off the frame with his 12th bomb of the season. Matt Chapman walked and moved to second on a single by Matt Olson. Berrios walked Khris Davis to load the bases. Mark Canha had a golden opportunity to break the game open, but he hit into a double play. Chapman scored on the play. Berrios got Laureano to fly out to Max Kepler in right to end the inning. The A’s led 3-2.

In the bottom of the eighth, Marcus Semien hit a grand slam to blow open the game for the A’s. Robbie Grossman and Chris Herrman singled to start the rally. Jurickson Profar was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no out. Marcus Semien, who had hit a solo home run in the fifth, sent the first pitch from Mike Morin over the fence for a grand slam and the A’s now led 7-2. A’s manager Bob Melvin, brought in Joakim Soria to pitch the ninth. The Twins right-fielder, Max Kepler, doubled to start the inning, but Soria settled down and retired the next three hitters to ice the win for Oakland. The A’s won 7-2.

Game Notes and Stats: The A’s, with the win, improve to 48-40 and now lead the Texas Rangers by one game in the race for second place in the AL West. They trail the first place Houston Astros by 7 1/2 games.

The A’s had three players that had multiple hits in the game. These three had nine of the A’s 12 hits. Robbie Grossman had three singles. Chris Herrmann had his first four-hit game. He had a double and three singles. Semien had two hits, both home runs. Semien’s first was a solo blast in the fifth, and a grand slam in the eighth. Semien has hit 13 so far this season. His five RBI game matched a career-high, It was also his fifth career two-homer game, and his fourth career grand slam.

The line score for Oakland was seven runs, 12 hits, and one error. The Twins’ line was two runs, 11 hits, and no errors. The winning pitcher was Wang, and Jose Berrios took the loss. Berrios is now 8-5 for the year.

Time of game was three hours and 20 minutes. 20,836 fans watched the A’s win.

Up Next: The A’s travel to Seattle to face the Mariners for three games before the All-Star break. Lefty Brett Anderson will pitch for the Green and Gold Friday night. Brett is 8-5 and has an ERA of 3.92. Seattle’s Yusei Kikuchi (4-5, 5.12 ERA) will be on the hill for the M’s. Kikuchi is also left-handed.