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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.

Seattle Mariners pitcher Bryan Woo pitches to the Oakland A’s in the top of the first inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Thu Jun 6, 2024 (AP News photo)

Thursday, June 6, 2024

Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

Oakland, California

Seattle Mariners 3 (36-28)

Oakland Athletics 0 (25-39)

Win: Bryan Woo (3-0)

Loss: JP Sears (4-5)

Save: Ryne Stanek (4)

Time: 2:35

Attendance: 6,571

By Stephen Ruderman

OAKLAND–The A’s ran into a buzz saw in Bryan Woo, who shut down the A’s, and the Mariners shutout the A’s 3-0 on a hazy Wednesday afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum to take the series.

The A’s were looking to win just their second series since they took two of three from the Miami Marlins from May 3-5. They were also looking to win consecutive games for the first time since that same series against the Marlins.

Left-hander JP Sears made the start for Oakland. Sears was coming off a start in Atlanta where he gave up four runs over seven innings against a powerful Braves team at Truist Park, one of the most live ballparks in Baseball.

Sears was back at the Coliseum for his team-leading 13th start of the season to go up against a Mariners team, who despite their record, has struggled offensively all season. Sears promptly got off to a nice start with a 1-2-3 top of the first inning.

The Mariners went with right-hander Bryan Woo, who has pitched quite well since being called up from Triple-A Tacoma on May 10. Woo has gone 2-0 with a minuscule 1.30 ERA in his first five starts of the season.

The A’s put Woo in trouble right away in the bottom of the first. Abraham Toro hooked a double down the right field line to start the inning, but he never got to third, as Woo was able to settle down to retire the side.

Sears walked Cal Raleigh with one out in the top of the second, but he induced a double play off the bat of Mitch Haniger to end the inning. Seth Brown reached second to lead off the bottom of the second when Mariners’ left-fielder Victor Robles tried to make a leaping catch on a routine fly ball to left field but ended up dropping the ball. Fortunately for Robles, Woo retired the side, and Brown never got past third.

The A’s had wasted opportunities in the first two innings, and they would need Sears to keep cruising, but Sears immediately got himself in trouble in the top of the third. Sears walked Mitch Garver, and then he hit Robles right afterwards to put runners at first and second with nobody out. Ryan Bliss then reached on a bunt single, the Mariners’ first hit of the game, to load the bases.

Sears struck J.P. Crawford out swinging for the first out, but Dylan Moore knocked in Garver with a sacrifice fly to left. The Mariners had a 1-0 lead, and Woo followed that up with his first 1-2-3 inning of the afternoon in the bottom of the third.

Sears hit Raleigh with a pitch with one out in the top of the fourth, and Raleigh followed that up by stealing second base. Sears struck Haniger out for the second out, but Garver hit a single to left to score Raleigh and make it 2-0.

As for Woo, he pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the fourth. Both pitchers pitched scoreless innings in the fifth.

Sears went back out for the top of the sixth, but with activity in the A’s bullpen, he would most likely have to pitch a 1-2-3 inning to go a full six innings. Sears did indeed pitch that 1-2-3 inning to end a very strong day for him, in which he gave up just two runs and three hits over his six innings, while striking out eight.

Woo pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the sixth, and he was in complete control. That made it a bit surprising that his day would be done afterwards.

Woo had yet to go more than six innings this year, and he had his highest pitch count of the year with 85 pitches, but with how he was pitching Wednesday, it could have been assumed that Mariners Manager Scott Servais would have given him one more inning.

Still, it was quite an impressive outing. Woo allowed just two hits and three base-runners over his six shutout innings, and the A’s simply could not catch up to his fastball.

“We just couldn’t hit the heater,” said Manager Mark Kotsay. “I don’t know what it is about his fastball that gives us trouble…..We just could not hit the fastball.”

Dany Jimenez was the new pitcher for Oakland in the top of the seventh, and he worked through a pair of walks for a scoreless inning. Austin Voth came in for Seattle, and he pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh.

Jimenez was back out for the top of the eighth, He struck Julio Rodriguez out swinging to start the inning. Jimenez then walked Ty France, but he bounced back to strike Raleigh out swinging for the second out.

Then, Kotsay brought in the left-hander, T.J. McFarland, to face the right-handed-hitting Mitch Haniger. It seemed like a weird move from afar, but Haniger has struggled against left-handers this season. The move paid off, and Haniger grounded out weakly to third to end the inning.

Mike Baumann pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth for Seattle, and when McFarland went back out for the top of the ninth, Mitch Garver led off the inning with a home run to left-center to extend the Mariners’ lead to 3-0.

It was quite an afternoon for Garver, who reached base all four times he came to the plate, going 2-for-2 with a single, the home run and a pair of walks. He also scored two of the Mariners’ three runs.

Ryne Stanek then came out and pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth for his fourth save.

Bryan Woo got the win; JP Sears suffered a very hard-luck loss; and Ryan Stanek picked up the save.

“We have definitely pitched [well], and offensively, we haven’t taken advantage of that,” said Kotsay. “It’s been a tough stretch. Generally, [if] you have good pitching, you win games. We’ve had good starting pitching, I think, for the last 10 or so outings, and we haven’t really capitalized on it.”

The A’s fall to 25-39, and they will hope for better luck when they welcome in the Toronto Blue Jays for three at the Coliseum starting Friday night. The Jays will be going with RHP Chris Bassitt (6-6, ERA 4.13) the A’s will counter with Left-hander Hogan Harris (0-0, ERA 3.14) who will be on the hill, first pitch will be at 6:40 p.m.