Photo credit: @Cubs

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s dropped a thriller to the Chicago Cubs 6-5 in the opener of a three-game series at Wrigley Field on Monday. It was the A’s first visit to Wrigley since June 2010. The A’s starter Chris Bassitt entered the game with a record of 7-5. The Cubs named Kyle Hendricks as their starter. Hendricks’ record was 8-8, and his ERA was 3.07.

The Cubs jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Nick Castellanos, obtained by the Cubs from the Detroit Tigers at the trading deadline, hit his first home run as a Cub. It was his 12th of the year. He tormented the A’s when he was a member of the Tigers.

The A’s took the lead in the top of the third. Hendricks, who very rarely walks a hitter, issued a free pass to Jurickson Profar. Profar went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Bassitt. Marcus Semien followed with his 18th blast of the year. He hit an opposite-field home run to give the A’s the lead 2-1.

The Cubs tied the game in the bottom of the sixth when Cubs second baseman Javy Baez homered. Bassitt finished the inning. His line was six innings of work, two runs, and eight hits.

A’s manager Bob Melvin brought in Blake Treinen to work the seventh inning. Treinen had been pitching better of late, but Monday night was a nightmare for him. The Cubs scored four runs on four hits to take a 6-2 lead. Treinen served up a gopher ball to pinch-hitter Ian Happ, who was leading off. Jason Hayward singled and scored on Nick Castellanos’ double. Jay Baez hit his second of the night and 29th of the year to give Chicago the lead 6-2. Treinen’s lin was two thirds of an inning, four hits, four runs and he was tagged for two dingers in the inning.

The A’s rallied to put three on the board in the top of the eighth. Cubs veteran reliever, Steve Cishek, was on the mound. The first hitter he faced, Jurickson Profar, doubled. Cishek struck out A’s catcher Chris Herrmann for the first out. The A’s pinch-hitter Nick Martini gave Cishek quite a battle. Cishek and Martini engaged in an 11-pitch struggle that was won by Martini when he blasted a home run into the right-field seats to bring the A’s within two 6-4. The next hitter Marcus Semien blasted the first pitch from Cishek into the left-field bleachers to make it a 6-5 game. Cubs manager Joe Maddon brought in Brandon Kintzler to get the final out of the ninth.

The A’s failed to score in the top of the ninth. With two out, pinch-hitter Khris Davis walked. Chad Pinder followed with a single. Maddon replaced Kyle Ryan with David Phelps. Phelps, acquired by the Cubs in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays, had to face the hot-hitting Marcus Semien. Semien hit the ball hard, but it was not far enough as it was caught in left field for the final out of the game. The Cubs won 6-5.

Game Notes: With the loss, the A’s drop to 64-49. The Tampa Bay Rays also lost so the A’s remain a half game behind the Rays for the second Wild Card slot. The Cubs improved to 61-51 and remain in first place in the NL Central.

Neither starter figured in the decision. Bassitt’s line was six innings, two runs, and eight hits. Hendricks line was 6 1/3 innings of work. He allowed two runs and just one hit.

Blake Treinen took the loss for Oakland.

The Cubs announced that their closer, Craig Kimbrel, was placed on the 10-day IL with a knee problem.

The Cubs’ line was six runs, 12 hits, and no errors. The A’s line was five runs, six hits, and no errors.

The A’s hit three homers in the game. Marcus Semien had two. The Cubs had four. Javy Baez also had two homers.

Time of game was three hours and 18 minutes. 40,721 people were crammed into the friendly confines of Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs win.

Up Next: Game two of the three-game series will start at 5:05 pm. It will be a battle of lefty pitchers. Brett Anderson (9-7) will go for Oakland, and he will be opposed by Jon Lester (9-7). Lester pitched for the A’s in 2014.