Splish Splash Oakland A’s slugger JJ Bleday gets the Gatorade can treatment after belting a walk off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Oakland Coliseum on Fri Jun 7, 2024 (Oakland A’s X photo)

Toronto (30-33). 000 000 100. 1. 5. 0

Athletics (26-39). 000 001 001. 2 5. 0

Time: 2:07

Attendance: 16,046

Friday, June 7, 2024

By Lewis Rubman

OAKLAND–The A’s, like Hogan Harris, their starting pitcher in Friday night’s 2-1 stunning walk off triumph over the Toronto Blue Jays, have had their ups and downs this season. After laboriously climbing the to the pinnacle of mediocrity at 17-17 on May 4, the green and gold steadily dropped in the standings and had lost six of their previous eight games. With Friday night’s win, they’ve risen to 26-39.

Harris, the third round choice of the then Oakland Athletics in the 2018, reached the big leagues last year, when he went 3-6, 7.14 for the. A’s in six starts and eight relief appearances. He has been up and down between Oakland and Las Vegas this season.

When he was recalled from the Aviators on May 30, it was the third time in ’24 that he was with the big club. He was an unimpressive, even by PCL standards 1-2, 7.67 while in AAA. This evening, he wasn’t just up in the majors; he was up to major league standards and then some.

When Austin Adams relieved him to start the top of the seventh, Harris had yielded exactly three hits and two walks while logging three strikeouts. He threw 91 pitches, XX(55) for strikes. Although the A’s were leading 1-0 at Harris’s departure, he had to settle for a no decision that left his w0n-lost record unchanged but lowered his ERA to 2.21.

The Blue Jays, who had just salvaged a split in their four game series at Baltimore and going 11-7 in their last 18 encounters, still were only 30-32 at game time. Unlike Harris, who is notorious for not getting through a lot of innings, Chris Bassitt, Toronto’s starting pitcher Friday evening, frequently piles up the IPs, of which he compiled an even 200 last year, when he went 16-8 in 33 starts racked up 186 strikeouts.

The veteran of seven big league seasons was an uncharacteristic 6-6, 4.13 when he toed the mound in the bottom of the first. He pitched a beautiful eight frames, holding the Athletics to one run, which was earned, on four hits and two walks. He did, however, unleash a wild pitch. 71 of his 102 offerings either were called strikes or made contact with an Athletic’s bat. Like Harris, he wasn’t involved in the decision. His ERA dropped considerably, to 3.80.

Neither team came close to scoring over the initial 5-1/2 frames. Then Max Schuemann led off the A’s sixth with a single to left, only their third hit, and advanced to third on Abraham Toro’s single to center. After Miguel Andújar took a called third strike, Schuemann scored on a wild pitch to JJ Bleday. Toro took third, where he was stranded.

Austin Adams, who relieved Harris, couldn’t hold onto his lead. The Blue Jays overcame The Curse of the Leadoff Double. Vladimir Guerrero’s fly to deep right field landed just inside the foul line, and Bo Bichette followed with a game tying single to right. A passed ball and hit batter made for a threat, but Adams wiggled out of it.

Scott Alexander hurled a 1,2,3 eighth, and Mason Miller set down the heart of the Toronto order, Guerrero, Bichette, and George Springer down on two strikeouts and a grounder to third in the ninth.

Chad Green, who relieved Bassitt for the ninth, worked pretty quickly, too. His first pitch to Bleday, leading off, was an 86 mph slider. It went over the right field fence and landed 369 feet from home plate to give the A’s a walk off triumph.

It was Mason Miller’s first big league win. Bleday, interviewed on the field after his blast, was asked how he felt, having given the Oakland fans something to cheer about. His answer was drowned out by chants of “SELL THE TEAM.”

Credit for the win, his first as a major leaguer went to Miller. Green, 1-1, 2.25, took the loss.

Saturday, righty Luis Medina will make his first start of the season for the A’s. Fellow right hander Kevin Gausman (4-4, 4.60 will be his opposite number for Toronto. First pitch 1:05pm PT at the Oakland Coliseum.