Home plate umpire Chris Conroy (98) talks over a strike three call on Oakland A’s hitter Tony Kemp (5) in the top of the seventh inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco on Tue Apr 26, 2022 (AP News photo)

Oakland. 2. 5. 1

San Francisco. 8. 7. 1

Tuesday, April 26, 2022

By Lewis Rubman

Oakland A’s game report: Mark Kingwell writes in Fail Better Why Baseball Matters

SAN FRANCISCO–We know, with part of our rational minds, that it does not matter who wins a baseball game. And yet, it matters—-sometimes so deeply as to generate much genuine emotion. And if we wonder how non-real things can arouse real emotions, we need only recall Aristotle’s analysis of catharsis, the psychologically beneficial venting of painful feelings under controlled conditions such as the theatre.

If this is the case–and I think it is–it is even more so in the Bay Bridge Series. The final score of a ball game may not amount to a hill of beans in the grand scheme of things (if there is such a thing), and it means even less in the pretend world to which Kingwell refers.

When play began (the “controlled conditions such as the theatre”), Oakland, refreshed after their first day of rest since completing a season opening 17 consecutive days of arduous labor, occupied third place in the AL West standings, at 9-8, a game and a half behind the division leading Mariners and one game behind the second place Angels.

The Giants had just flown over half the continent after spending three hours of their lightening visit to Milwaukee, where they completed a 11 game swing through the east and Midwest by coming from behind to defeat the talented Brew Crew 4-2, scoring two runs in each of the eighth and ninth innings.

That win put San Francisco’s record at 12-5, a half game behind the Dodgers for the lead in the NL. In a season of 162 games followed by nearly all-inclusive playoffs, tonight and tomorrow’s contests fade into insignificance.

Yet we care.

My wife likes to say that we’re Athletics fans but the Giants are mishpokhe, a Yiddish word for extended family. I usually add that families fight. They did in classical Greek drama, and they do in Major League Baseball.

The rivals’ starting pitchers took the mound with almost identical earned run averages. The visitors sent right hander Daulton Jefferies, who had posted an almost unbeatable ERA of 1.17 but still had come out on the short end of two out of his three decision, while the home team entrusted its fortunes to left handed Carlos Rodón, whose 1.16 was paired with a 2-0 won-lost record. That says a lot about the teams’ relative strength at bat and on the field.

Neither team was at full strength. Drew Jackson, Jed Lowrie, Chad Pinder, and Lou Trivino were on Oakland’s Covid list, Sky Bolt, James Kaprielian, Kevin Smith, and Stephen Vogt were on the 10 day list, and Deolis Guerra and Brent Hnneywell were out for 60 days. Ramón Laureano still was serving his suspension, doing rehab in the minors.

San Francisco had to manage without the services of Alex Cobb, Anthony DeSclafani, Tommy La Stella, Evan Longoria, and LaMonte Wade, Jr., all on the 10 day IL; Mike Yatrzemski, on the Covid list; Matthew Boyd, on the 60 day list; John Brebbia, on bereavement leave; and Tyler Rogers, on paternity leave.

The Giants took an early lead when Brandon Crawford led off the second with a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch to DH Wilmer Flores, who proceeded to jump all over a hanging curve, driving Jefferies´offering of the left centerfield wall and bringing Crawford home with the initial tally.

Flores moved up a base on a single to center by Luis González. Both Thairo Estrada and Jason Vosler hit grounders to Nick Allen at second, whose tosses retired the lead runner. Elvis Andrus, however, didn’t get his relay over to first on time, allowing Flores to score on Estrada’s force out. Joey Bart grounded out to Andrus to end the inning with the Giants ahead, 1-0.

A wild pitch from Rodón in the top of the third allowed Nick Allen, who. had walked, to take second with one down. After Tony Kemp struck out, Sheldon Neuse’s single to left center drove him home, cutting San Francisco’s lead in half. Murphy went down swinging, and that was it for Oakland’s rally.

That close score was short lived. The home team came roaring back with Belt’s single to right center and a walk to Crawford, followed by Flores’s 389 foot blast over the left field wall on a 93 mph sinker that didn’t sink enough. Just like that, it was 5-1, San Francisco after three.

Jefferies didn’t come out for the bottom of the fifth. He left the game, having thrown 72 pitches, 43 for strikes. All five of the runs he allowed were earned. He gave up four hits, one of which went the distance and a pair of walks. He also unleashed a wild pitch. His slim ERA ballooned to 3.26. AJ Puk replaced him on the mound, and Austin Slater replaced Joc Pederson in the San Fran line up.

Rodón’s night was over after six innings of work, in which he allowed just that single, earned, run in the third. He gave up two walks and a costly wild pitch. His pitch count was 107, 74 for strikes. His ERA crept up to 1.17.

Rodón gave way to Dominic Leone, who faced four batters in the seventh, two of whom touched him hits; Cristián Pache, a one out single and Seth Brown, pinch hitting for Christian Lopes, a two out double to right center that drove in Andrus and brought Jarín García to strike out Nick Allen on a disputed, and very disputable, called third strike.

After pitching two three-up. three down frames, Puk gave way to Jacob Lemoine in the home half of the seventh. Again, a three run Giant homer was the counterweight to a lone Oakland tally.

This one was a towering fly that travelled 345 feet before smacking against the right field wall. Lemoine then surrendered a single to Belt and struck out Darin Ruf before turning mound duties over to Adam Kokarek.

The Athletics’ southpaw side armer who walked Crawford but retired Flores on a grounder to third to close out the inning with Oakland on the short end of an 8-2 score.

It was Yunior Marte’s turn to face the A’s in the visitors’ eighth. He set them down in order. The Giants entrusted their six run lead to Kervin Castro, recalled today from Sacramento, in Oakland’s last chance top of the ninth. He allowed a two out walk to Pache, but struck out the three other batters he faced,

The win went to Rodón and the loss to Jefferies.

The trans bay rivals go at it again tomorrow, Wednesday, night at 6:45. The probable starters will be Paul Blackburn (2-1,1.80) for the Athletics and for the Giants they will go with left hander Sam Long (0-0 ERA 0.00) at Oracle Park in San Francisco.