Oakland A’s infielder Dermis Garcia raises his hand in appreciation of the success the A’s offense was having against the Washington Nationals on Tue Aug 30, 2022 at Nationals Park in DC (@Athletics photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Oakland A’s(49-81) playing in the fairly new Washington Nationals (43-86) stadium for the first time, beat the Nats 10-6 in a wild and woolly contest. It had been hot and humid in the Nation’s Capitol earlier in the day. However, after a rain shower, the temperature at the start of the game was 73 degrees, and the humidity was 95%.

With humidity numbers in that range, the players on the field will work up quite a sweat, and the players know the ball carries better with high humidity. Would the starting pitchers be able to keep their opponents’ bats quiet? Could Cole Irvin get run support from his mates? The A’s hitters did give Irvin support.

The A’s put ten runs on the board and recorded 13 hits. After a great performance against the Miami Marlins last week in Oakland, Cole Irvin was not sharp. Irvin allowed nine hits and five runs in five and 1/3rd innings.

Irvin did not get a decision in the game against the Marlins. Baseball is a strange game. Irvin gave up five runs and got the win. This game leaves so many fans scratching their heads.

The A’s jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Playing in left field, Tony Kemp led off the inning with a double. Nats’ starter Erick Fedde struck out Seth Brown for the first out. A’s catcher Sean Murphy singled to center to drive in Kemp with the run.

The lead didn’t last long. Nats’ leadoff hitter Lane Thomas sent Irvin’s second pitch of the game over the fence to tie the game. The next hitter, Joey Meneses, doubled. Meneses tagged and went to third on Luke Voit’s fly ball to right. Nats’ DH Nelson Cruz, who loves to torment the A’s, drove in Meneses with a sacrifice fly. The Nats led 2-1 after one inning of play.

In the bottom of the second, Washington plated two more runs to go ahead 4-1. With one out, Victor Robles singled. Irvin hit CJ Abrams with a pitch to put two men on with one out. Lane Thomas singled to drive in Robles. It was Thomas’ second RBI of the game. Meneses followed with his second double of the night to make it 4-1.

The A’s, in the third, sent nine men to the plate as they put five runs on the board to lead 6-4. With one out and Sean Murphy at second, A’s first baseman Dermis Garcia hit his first Major League home run to make it a 4-3 game.

Fedde retired Vimael Machin for the second out. Three straight singles by Jonah Bride, Cal Stevenson, and Nick Allen plated the A’s fourth run of the game. The Nats brought in Hunter Harvey to pitch to Tony Kemp. Kemp doubled to drive in two more runs. The A’s led 6-4 midway through the third inning.

Washington added a run in the bottom of the fourth to make it a one-run deficit 6-5. With two out, Lane Thomas walked. Joey Meneses doubled for the third time to drive in Thomas.

The A’s put four more on the board in the top of the fifth. With one out, Cal Stevenson walked. Nick Allen struck out. Tony Kemp singled.

It was Kemp’s third hit of the game. Seth Brown walked to load the bases. Sean Murphy, who had two singles in his first two trips to the plate, hit a grand slam to propel the A’s to a 10-5 advantage. For Murphy, it was his first-career grand slam. As the late Dave Niehaus would say:” Grandma, get out the mustard and the Rye bread; it’s a grand salami.”

The Nationals’ Luis Garcia homered off Austin Pruitt in the eighth to make it 10-6. Domingo Acevedo set the Nats down in order 1-2-3 in the ninth to secure the win for Oakland, 10-6.

Game Notes: The A’s won their third straight game. They are now 49-81. They have 32 games left to play this year. The Nationals dropped to 43-86. Washington owns the worst record in all of baseball. The A”s have the second-worst record. 

The A’s line was ten runs, 13 hits, and no errors. Tony Kemp had two doubles and a single. Sean Murphy had two singles and a grand slam. Quite a night for Murphy. A’s rookie, Jonah Bride, had a single and a double.

The hitting star for Washington were Joe Menses and Lane Thomas. Meneses had three doubles in his first three trips to the plate, and Thomas had a home run and a single. Victor Robles had two singles for the Nats. Luis Garcia had a solo home run.

The A’s announced pitchers Dany Jimenez and Zach Jackson are on the ten-day IL. 

The A’s and Nats will meet Wednesday evening again. James Kaprielian (3-8, 4.88) will pitch for Oakland, and Anibal Sanchez (0-5, 5.72) goes for the Nats’. The game will start at 4:05 pm.

The time of the game was 3:24. 26,321 fans were in attendance, but it appeared a lot of fans stayed away due to the possibility of rain.