Oakland A’s pitcher Sean Manaea (55) gets the hook from manager Bob Melvin in the top of the fifth inning against the San Francisco Giants at the Oakland Coliseum on Sat Aug 21, 2021 (AP News photo)
San Francisco 6 – 10- 1
Oakland 5 – 8. – 0
By Lewis Rubman
Saturday August 21, 2021
OAKLAND–Sean Manaea, who took the mound for this afternoon’s San Francisco Giants (79-44)-Oakland Athletics (70-54) set to with an 8-8, 3.77 record, had been having trouble recently getting past the early innings. In his three previous starts this month, the deepest he had gone into a game was five frames since a losing effort against Texas on the 15th.
Manaea split his two other August starts between a loss to to San Diego and a no decision in Cleveland. His opponent, Kevin Gausman, had won all three of his starts so far this month, going five innings twice and lasting six in the first of them, a 7-1 win over Arizona in Phoenix on the fourth.
Manaea had his early inning troubles today, owing largely to deficient control in the second, while Gausman’s difficulties getting started were caused by both poor fielding behind him and the A’s successful running game. Manaea recovered but still managed to pitch only four and two-third innings; Gausman lasted a mere three and two-thirds, during which he allowed five runs, only two of which we earned, on six hits, a walk, a wild pitch, and a hit batter.
He threw 82 pitches; 59 counted as strikes. In the end, the game came down to. a battle of closers, with San Francisco Jake McGee getting his 27th save in the 6-5 win and Lou Trevino suffering his third blown save of the year.
Oakland jumped out to an early lead. Mark Canha led off with a grounder to Wilmer Flores, who threw the ball into the spacious pastures behind first base for a three base error. Sterling Starling Marte followed that with a run scoring double to left center.
After Matt Olson grounded out to Flores and Mitch Moreland popped out to San Francisco’s busy third sacker. With Josh Harrison at bat, Marte stole third. With Seth Brown, recalled before today’s game from Las Vegas, at the plate, the runners pulled off a double steal, and both came home on Brown’s sharp single to left.
San Francisco came roaring back in the second. Kris Bryant followed a lead off walk to Darin Ruff with his 22nd homer of the season, a fly to left that Canha leapt for and just missed catching at the 367 foot sign. SF might have scored more; Brandon Crawford doubled to left center with one down, and Manaea plunked Curt Casali with two men out. Some nifty fielding by Josh Harrison at third and Tony Kemp at second saved Manaea’s skin.
The A’s got one run back on a two out double to left center by Harrison that plated Olson, who had singled to center with one down in the bottom of the third, putting the green and gold up on the orange and black 4-2 a third of the way through the game.
The east bay nine stretched their lead in their next turn at bat. Murphy opened the frame with a single to right and motored to third on Kemp’s double down the line to right. After Andrus fouled out to third, a walk to Canha clogged the basepaths. Gausman’s wild pitch to Marte unclogged them to the extent of leaving first base open as the Murphy crossed the plate with Oakland´s fifth tally of the afternoon. Gausman eventually struck out Marte, but it was Jarlin García got Olson out on a fly to right to end the inning.
But the Giants still had some fight in them. A nice jumping catch of Austin Slater’s inning opening liner by Olson was the first out; a grounder to Manaea by Posey was the second. And then the A’s starter’s control disappeared. He hit Belt and walked Ruf and Bryant. Yusmeiro Petit came up big to stop the nascent rally, getting Flores to pop out to second. Manaea allowed two runs, both earned, on four hits, three walks, and two hit batters. Of his 96 offerings, 34 were balls.
Petit pitched another episode, in which he allowed only a single, before giving way to Andrew Chafin at the start of the seventh. He allowed Brandon Belt’s 17th round tripper, a solo blast to right center on an 82 mph hanging slider, followed by Darin Ruf’s 14th dinger, which took a 92 mph sinker over the left field out of town score board.
So it now was a 5-4 ball game when Dominic Leone relieved García to start the home seventh. The A´s threatened with a double Marte rifled down the left field line and a hit batter, Olson, but 5-4 it remained when Leone went to the dugout after getting the third out.
Crawford led off the eighth with a fly that dropped for a safety in left center against the A’s new pitcher, Jake Diekman. Tommy LaStella sent another pop up safely to the ground, this time in right field, a San Francisco had runners on first with none down.
Curt Casali tried to bunt them along, but he popped out to Diekman. The tide was turning, but then it turned again. Crawford tried to steal third, but Diekman whipped the ball over to Pinder at the hot corner, who chased the would be pilferer down for the inning’s second out LaStella, Crawford’s co-conspiritor in the aborted attempt at twin larceeny, advanced to second. Diekman then struck out Slater.
Tyler Rogers took over mound duties for the visitors in the bottom of eighth. The sidearmer fanned Brown on three pitches before retiring Murphy on a grounder to short and disposing of Pinder with another three pitch swinging strike out.
Last night, Lou Trivino came in for the ninth, looking for his 21st save if the season. This afternoon, he entered the ninth, looking for his 22nd. He struck out Posey, but walked Belt on a 3-2 count. Gabe Kapler called on Mike Yaztremski to pinch run Belt. He didn’t have.
LaMonte Wade, Jr. pinch hit for Ruf and sent a 94 mph fast ball just inside the right field foul pole to put San Francisco ahead 6-5. The two final outs of the Giants ninth were anti-climatic.
Now Jake McGee entered the fray, looking for his 27th save, He got a pinch hitting Yan Gomes to fly out to center. He got Canha out on a fly to right. All that stood between McGee and the save was Starling Marte, two for four, with two doubles, for the day. McGee got two strikes on him. Marte ran the count at 2-2. And then hit a one-hopper to McGee, who threw him out at first.
Tyler Rogers got the win. His record now stands at 4-1, 1.98. The loss went to Trivino, who now is 5-5, 1.99.
Sunday afternoon at 1:07 when right handers Frank Montás (9-9, 4.04) and Logan Webb (7-3, 2.92) are scheduled to duke it out
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