Oakland A’s hitter Mark Canha connects for an RBI single in the third inning at Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City against the Kansas City Royals on Wed Sep 15, 2021 (AP News photo)

A’s Hang On To Win In A Cliffhanger 12-10

By Barbara Mason

Wednesday night the Oakland A’s took on the Kansas City Royals in game two of their series. Sean Manea was on the mound for Oakland and for Kansas City Carlos Hernandez got the nod. The ERA for Hernandez is currently 3.29 while Manea has a 3.79 ERA.

Last night’s game was a tough one for the A’s as they squandered another healthy lead. After five innings they led 7-4 but were unable to score again for the remainder of the game. The Royals scored four times in the sixth inning taking the lead and winning the game by a score of 10-7.

The team is desperate for a win as chances for a Wild Card are dwindling with each loss. Although the Rangers got on the board first taking an early 1-0 lead in this game, the A’s had a productive second, third and fourth inning which included a home run from Matt Olson, his 35th of the season. They scored five times taking a 5-1 lead into the bottom of the fourth inning.

It felt a bit like deja vu in this fourth inning. The Royals would score four times with Perez, Benintendi, and Mondesi all scoring. They had drastically cut the A’s lead to 5-4. Oakland badly needed some offense in the second half of this game. We all saw what happened in yesterday’s game. We knew going in that the Royals could be problematic

The A’s offense answered in the fifth inning scoring three runs, now leading 8-4. Kemp and Harrison both had singles. The Royals Perez had a solo home run in the fifth but that was it for Kansas City.

The seventh inning was huge for Oakland. By the end of the top of the inning the A’s were leading 12-5. They unleashed an offensive run and now the team had 17 hits in the game. The offense was on fire and the bullpen needed to protect the lead.

Sean Manea pitched five innings before Lou Trivino came in to relieve in the sixth inning. Trivino pitched the sixth and seventh innings giving up a single run.

Jake Diekman would take over on the mound in the eighth inning as the A’s closed in on their first win in this series. Just when it looked all so promising , Diekman loaded the bases and a familiar scenario came into play. Kansas City doubled and the Royals had scored three times in the inning. Oakland now clung onto a 12-9 lead as Andrew Chafin came in to try and close out the inning. Prior to the ninth inning Oakland had had 24 base runners in this game.

After Chafin got the team out of the eighth inning, Oakland was three outs away from a win. It would be up to Chafin to close this one out. Another nightmare for the green and gold as Chafin loaded the bases with no outs. He loaded the bases for a second time in the inning with two out.

Miraculously the A’s hung on to get the final out and the win 12-10. This was a wild game that went down to the wire.

The A’s will try to take the series tomorrow in game three. First pitch is scheduled for 11:10.