Seattle Mariners’ Adam Frazier, right, steals second base against Oakland Athletics shortstop Nick Allen during the second inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Sat Aug 20, 2022 (AP News photo)

Seattle (66-55). 3. 7. 1

Oakland (44-77). 4. 8. 0. 10 innings

Saturday, August 20, 2022

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–The Oakland Athletics always find a new way to surprise you. After publishing their starting lineup the team announced a change. Skye Bolt had injured his knee and had to be scratched.

This had a domino effect that included moving Chad Pinder from left to Bolt’s spot in right, shifting Kemp from second base to left, and inserting Jonah Bride as the second baseman This called for some juggling of the batting order, with third baseman Vimael Machín moving up from the seventh to the sixth spot and Bride filling the resultant void.

Before the game, the A’s announced the acquisition on waivers of right handed reliever Joel Payamps from the Kansas City Royals, replacing Oakland’s lone representative on this year’s AL All Star game, Paul. Blackburn, whom they placed on the 60 day IL.

If the team hoped to surprise its followers with a win, following last night’s 10-2 humiliation at the hands of the Seattle Mariners, they sure as hell succeeded. They pulled off a come from behind 4-3 victory. The baseball sure takes funny bounces. Just ask Mariner first baseman Ty France.

James Kaprielian, the A’s starting pitcher, began the day’s work with a record of 3-7, 4.33. He hadn’t gone deeper than six innings in any of his 16 starts this year. In one of those six frame stints, he beat the Mariners, holding them to one run, which was earned, in a 3-1 Oakland win at T Mobile Park on July 1.

That was his only time he had faced the M’s this season. He threw five innings against them today, leaving the game with the A’s trailing 2-0. Both of those runs were earned; they came on three hits and four walks. Kaprielian struck out three, and 47 of his 78 offerings were counted as strikes. He got a no decision, ending his day with a record of 3-7, 4.29.

Kaprielian’s opposite number was Logan Gilbert, making his second appearance of 2022 against the A’s. He had beaten them the day before Kaprielian’s win in Seattle, but hadn’t exceeded the limits of mediocrity with four earned runs yielded on eight hits over six frames.

Gilbert’s season record entering today’s contest was 10-5, 3.51, too, was on the mound for five innings and allowed two earned runs. But he also surrendered an unearned one for a total of three. He yielded six hits without granting a free pass, and he notched four Ks. He threw 66 pitches; 20 were balls. Like Kaprielian, he wasn’t involved in the decision, leaving him 10-5 but raising his ERA a smidgen to 3.52 for the year.

Seattle avoided The Curse of the Leadoff Double when Julio Rodríguez led off with a towering triple that bounced off the wall in right center field. Ty Franco promptly drove him in with a sacrifice fly to left center.

The M’s hit another three bagger in their half of the fourth. With a man down, Eugenio Suárez lifted a high fly to deep right field, in front of the Budweiser Terrace. Pinder jumped for the ball at the fence, and the ball landed on the dirt to his right.

It had been clear all game that the fielders were having trouble with the bright sunlight, and this meteorological phenomenon cost the A’s a run when Adam Frazier sent Kent sprawling on the left field warning track dirt to catch his sacrifice fly. It now was 2-0 in favor of the visitors.

Murphy’s leadoff line drive in the bottom of that inning provided a scary moment. It banged off Gilbert’s leg, visibly shaking him up and, incidentally, went for a single. But Seattle’s starter shook off the pain and made a neat play on Voght’s comebacker that followed Murphy’s hit, converting it into a 1-5-3 double play, with third sacker Suárez taking the throw at second.

It was in the fifth that Oakland erupted. Machín led off with a grounder to second that Frazier couldn’t handle. Bride followed that with a single to left center. Allen then hit a fly to right that Jake Lamb lost in the sun.

That went as a single, unlike Frazier’s misplay, which was scored as an error. (Both scoring decisions were correct). Stevenson advanced the two runners with a sacrifice bunt to third, and Kemp’s single to center brought both of them home with the A’s second and third runs. They now were in front of Seattle, 3-2.

AJ Puk pitched a scoreless top of the sixth in relief of Kaprielian. Matthew Festa did as much for the M’s in the bottom of the frame.

Domingo Acevedo took over mound duties for the green and gold in the top of the seventh and, with a little help from a pitcher’s best friend, emerged unscathed.

Erik Swanson replaced Festa following “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and also kept Oakland off the board.

Zach Jackson had to face the heart of the Mariners’ order when he entered the fray in the visitors’ eighth. Cleanup hitter Mitch Haniger touched him for a one out single to center, and one out later, Oakland nemesis Eugenio Suárez drove him in with a game tying single to left.

Paul Sewald was on the hump to face the Athletics in their half of the frame. He walked Sheldon Neuse, pinch hitting for Vogt, and then retired Pinder on a pop up that second sacker caught while dashing into right field.

Machín took a called third strike before Bride sent Dylan Moore, who had entered the game as a pinch hitter in the seventh, almost to the right field warning track to haul in his high and deep fly for the final out.

It fell to Dany Jiménez to attempt to preserve the tie through the top of the ninth. Raleigh went down swinging for the first out. Carlos Santana pinch hit for Moore. He lined a scorcher up the middle, but Allen, who was perfectly positioned in the shift, fielded the ball cleanly and shot it to first for the second out.

His diving backhand attempt to catch Rodrígiuez’s drive into left, however, wasn’t successful, and Ty France, batting .288 with 14 homers came to the plate with the potential leading run on first. Rodríguez swiped second, and potential tie breaker now was in scoring position. With the count a 2-1, France hit a hard line drive to left that Kemp corralled to end the threat.

Now it was the turn of Seattle’s Andrés Muñoz to pitch a pressure packed episode. He began by whiffing Allen on a 3-2 slider. Stevenson, who had gone two for two, also went down swinging. It now was Muñoz versus Kemp, mano a mano. Muñoz won, striking out the veteran on three pitches.

We went into extra innings with Jiménez. still on the hill for Oakland and France on second as the zombie runner. Winker lined out to first, bringing up Haniger. He hit a grounder to short. France unwisely tried to advance. Allen threw him out at third. The shift once more proved to be the right move for the A’s when Crawford hit a sharp line drive to Bride, stationed in shallow center field.

Diego Castillo came on for the bottom of the tenth and immediately granted an intentional walk to Brown with Kemp on second as the mandated runner. Murphy walked to load the bases. Then Neuse sent a little nubber to the right of the pitcher’s mound. France couldn’t handle it. The play went into the books as a fielder’s choice, and the Athletics had pulled off an improbable victory.

The rubber game of this series will start tomorrow at 1:07. Oakland’s JP Sears (4-0, 1.95) will go against Seattle’s Luis Castillo (1-0, 2.18). Who knows what surprises are in store for us?