Mark Chapman (26) of the Oakland A’s gets congratulated from third base coach Mark Kotsay (7) after hitting a seventh inning home run on Wed Apr 7, 2021 at the Oakland Coliseum (AP News photo)
Los Angeles (NL). 3-8-0
Oakland. 4-5-0
Ten innings
By Lewis Rubman
OAKLAND–Tuesday night, the Oakland Athletics were thwarted in their seemingly unending quest for their first victory of the 2021 season. The thwarter in chief was Los Angeles Dodger Clayton Kershaw, who, after retiring, will be a viable candidate for the Hall of Fame.
Wednesday afternoon the A’s snapped their losing streak at six games with a 4-3 ten inning win over the Dodgers. The bleary eyed hometown squad had to face a less daunting figure but one still deserving of respect and capable of causing concern. Trevor Bauer, although he stood at 1-1, 5.66 for this season, was, and will be until after the last out of the world series, the reigning National League Cy Young winner. He achieved that honor by leading the senior circuit in the following categories: ERA (1.73), WHIP (O.79), opponents’ BA (.159), hits/nine innings (5.06), and shutouts (2).
Those two shutouts tied him for first place in complete games. He did this for Cincinnati. Two months ago, he signed with the Dodgers for a reported three-year, $102 million contract. Before today, his lifetime record against Oakland stood at 1-4, 3.72. He was 0-3, 3.25 at the Coliseum.
The A’s sent their promising but as yet unproved left handed youngster Jesús Luzardo to face Los Angeles’ fearsome lineup. Luzardo’s numbers going into the game were distressing but hid a mitigating factor. Although he was an unprepossing 0-1, 9.00, he struck out eight Astros in only five innings of work. That’s more than he’d struck out in any of his previous big league appearances. Of course, his having gone only five frames is no cause for reassurance.
Tuesday, the A’s announced a couple of transactions, but neither involved $102 million over three years. They placed relievers Burch Smith and Reymin Gudjuan on the injured list and recalled pitcher Jeremy Weems, as I reported Tuesday night, and outfielder Seth Brown from the alternate site in Stockton.
Wednesday started out in a way the Oakland faithful are beginning to find annoyingly repetitious; the visitors jumped out to a first inning one run lead. Chris Taylor led off with a walk. Corey Seager followed suit, moving Taylor up to second.
It seemed as if the A’s might emerge unscathed after Luzardo set down Justin Turner and Will Smith on strikes. But A.J. Pollock lined a single to center, plating Taylor and moving Seager into scoring position at second. A walk to Max Muncy filled the bases Dodgers, but the A’s young southpaw got Austin Barnes to fly out
The newly promoted Seth Brown made a spectacular catch of Austin Barnes’ bid for a leadoff homer in the top of the fourth, leaping and leaning over the Ring Central sign in left field to haul down what looked like a sure four bagger. In addition to keeping the score at 1-0, Brown’s heroic grab extended Luzardo’s string of five batters faced without allowing a baserunner. That streak eventually reached seven.
Ramón Laureano manufactured the tying run for Oakland in the bottom of that that frame. He led off with a walk, stole second and third,, and then, with Brown at the plate, scored on a wild pitch. Brown almost put Oakland ahead with a line drive into the right field seats, but it landed foul. He then took a called third strike to end the inning.
Luzardo reached 104 pitches, 62 for strikes, before being lifted in the top of the sixth after granting a passport to Muncy, who advanced to second on a single to left by Barnes. Luzardo’s replacement, Adam Kolarek, reitired Lux on a grounder to first, unassisted, that moved both runners up a base. Then Zach McKinstry hit a hard ground ball that Chapman handled cleanly and, diving into third, tagged Barnes trying to reach that base. But Muncy already had crossed the plate, and Los Angeles taken a 2-1 lead.
Luzardo was charged with that second run, so when he went to the showers he was on the hook for two earned runs on five hits and four walks. He reduced his ERA to 6.10.
Although Oakland’s two young hurlers, Luzardo and Kolarek, had performed adequately, veteran Segio Romo did not. He opened the top of the seventh by hitting Taylor with a slow slider and then yielding a single to center by Seager. Turner’s subsequent double drove in Taylor and sent Seager to third. Then Romo hidt his striode. He got the remaining batters he faced, with an intentional pass to Muncy thrown in, but Oakland now was trailing 3-1.
Still, the A’s battled back. Chapman started it by blasting his first home run of the young, frustrating season, a definitive smash over the center field fence. Bauer got Brown to strike out looking but surrended a single to Piscotty before fanning Andrus. That finished the day for Bauer.
Corey Knebel took over mound duties, and Sean Murphy pinch hit for Aramis García, and Tony Kemp pinch ran for Piscotty at second after Murphy’s base on balls. It was all for naught; Kenebel caught Canha looking to end the threat. Oakland had inched closer to Los Angeles (at least on the scoreboard) and now trailed 3-2.
Bauer’s line was 110 pitches, 67 for strikes in 6-2/3 IP. Two runs, both earned, on three hits, one out of the park, and only one walk but two hit batters. He notched ten Ks.
Cory pitched an inning, spanning the final out of the seventh and the first two outs of the eighth, before giving way to Víctor González, who came in to face Moreland with the bases empty and closed out the inning.
Jake Dieckman pitched a perfect top of the eighth and was lifted for Lou Trivino after Seager led off the ninth with a ground single to left. Trivino promptly walked Turner on four pitches. He threw two more to Smith before getting a strike called on Smith, who eventually flew out to right, advancing Seager to third.
After a long at bat, the A’s reliever induced Pollock to fly to Brown, now playing right, in right center field while the runners held their bases. He walked Muncy on a full count to clog the base paths with Dodger blue before fanning Edwin Ríos to keep Oakland in contention.
Of course, that meant they’d have to face the nearly impenetrable Kenley Jansen. Chapman, who seems to have found his stroke, led off with a solid single to center. Brown’s walk put men on first and second. Kemp sacrificed Chappy to third and pinchrunner Ka’ai Tom to second.
Then as I was taught to say in high school Latin, Elvis Andrus lifted a sac fly to right that knotted up the score with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. A walk to Murphy brought Canha to the plate. Unforunately, he grounded out to short.
Yusmeiro Petit came in to start the first extra inning of the A’s season. That, in itself, was a triumph of sorts. Ríos was the runner placed on second. He stayed there as Lux flew out to Laureano and McKinstry flew out to Kemp, now playing left. Taylor then lifted a fly to short right field.
Tom, who had replaced Brown in that position, made a long charge to the fence near the pitchers’ mounds in the visitors’ bull pen behind first base, got his glove on the ball (or vice versa), but couldn’t hold on to it. Undaunted, Petit struck Taylor out on a curve.
Jimmy Nelson took over on the mound and Canha took second to start the home tenth.
After a ten pitch at bat, Lowrie walked, which helped Oakland only because he didn’t make an an out. Canha still was on second, and force plays now were possible. The A’s needed only one run. They came closer to getting it when Laureano’s fly to deep center allowed Canha reach third, bringing Moreland to the plate. Moreland came through, lacing a single to right center that brought in Canha.
The A’s had won, and in what a fashion!
Petit got the win. He pitched one inning of perfect ball, in which he threw ten pitches. Nelson got tagged with the loss and was charged with one run, which was unearned because it was scored by the placed runner.
The A’s left for Houston right after the game. After playing three games against the Astros, they´ll move on to a two game set with the Arizona Diamondbacks. They return to torture. They will return to Oakland to face Detroit on Thursday the 15.
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