Pinder delivers timely hit, A’s advance in playoffs at last
OAKLAND » Sure, most of these young Oakland Athletics might barely remember some of the gut-wrenching October losses over the past two decades.
Two recent defeats were plenty fresh enough to motivate manager Bob Melvin’s slugging, happy-go-lucky A’s.
Oakland finally ended 14 years of postseason futility, riding Chad Pinder’s goahead, two-run single in the fifth inning and repeated costly walks by Chicago’s relievers to rally past the White Sox 6-4 on Thursday and win the decisive third game of their AL wild-card round series.
“Not everybody’s been part of all that,” Melvin said. “We’ve had a couple of tough ones in the last two years.”
The AL West champions lost the opener, then won on consecutive days at home and advanced to a Division Series against the rival Astros starting Monday at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
Sean Murphy hit a two-run homer in the fourth against Codi Heuer as A’s wives and families cheered from suites high above the diamond.
Players held a subdued celebration afterward. No Champagne showers.
“We’re doing what we did all year, and that’s following the protocols,” Melvin said.
Oakland stopped a ninegame losing streak in winner-take-all postseason games, a major league record that dated to the 1973 World
Series. The A’s had lost six straight playoff series since sweeping Minnesota in the 2006 Division Series, starting with when Detroit swept Oakland in that year’s Championship Series.
And what a humongous relief for a club that won 97 games each of the past two seasons only to lose the division to Houston and then the AL wild card game both years.
This one was never comfortable — even after Chicago lost designated hitter Eloy Jiménez and reliever Garrett Crochet to early injuries.
“I woke up this morning feeling like this was going to be a hard game and it was a hard game,” Melvin said. “... It took everybody today.”
Lou Trivino allowed the first two batters to reach in the seventh, hitting James McCann with a pitch. First baseman Matt Olson ran 98 feet to make a magnificent catch in foul territory for the second out, then Jake Diekman relieved and loaded the bases with a walk to Nomar Mazara before getting Adam Engel’s groundout.
Opening day starter in July, Frankie Montas, pitched two innings for the win. Liam Hendriks gave up McCann’s leadoff single in the ninth and closed out the game, a day after failing to do so.
Hendriks retired Mazara on a called third strike to end it. The A’s closer let out a howl of celebration and pumped his arms before receiving congratulatory hugs.
Melvin turned to right
hander Mike Fiers to take the ball over lefty starter Sean Manaea. The decision made perfect sense: The White Sox went 14-0 in the regular season against left-handed starters and beat southpaw Jesús Luzardo in Game 1 on Tuesday. That prompted White Sox star Tim Anderson to say, “I guess they haven’t done their homework.”
While Fiers was done after 1.2 innings having surrendered a run and five hits, he might get to leave his mark on the Astros series after not facing his former club all of 2020.
It was Fiers in November who made public his former Houston club’s sign-stealing scam. The A’s haven’t forgotten.
“We’re in the middle of it. There’s a little bit of kind of that going on there that we want to make sure they know what they’ve done and we can prove it to them and make sure we’re also the top team in the AL West,” Hendriks said. “But there’s also not being petty and not letting our emotions get the better of us by trying to be over the top and vengeful.” BRAVES 5, REDS 0 » Ian Anderson dazzled in another shutout performance for Atlanta, and the Braves won a playoff series for the first time in almost two decades by sweeping light-hitting
Cincinnati.
Ronald Acuña Jr. had three hits for the NL East champions, including a run-scoring double in the fifth. After winning Wednesday’s series opener 1-0 in 13 innings, Atlanta broke open Game 2 on two-run homers by Marcell Ozuna and Adam Duvall off Raisel Iglesias in the eighth.
Anderson struck out nine in six innings as the Braves snapped their record-tying string of losses in 10 consecutive postseason rounds since their last playoff series win in 2001. Atlanta will face Miami or the Chicago Cubs in the NL Division Series in Houston.
Marlins-Cubs Game 2 postponed
CHICAGO» The Chicago Cubs are counting on Yu Darvish to help them avoid a playoff sweep by the Miami Marlins.
They are going to have to wait another day to see if Darvish can deliver.
Game 2 of the NL wildcard series between the Cubs and Marlins was postponed Thursday because there was rain in the forecast.
Miami was taking batting practice under sunny skies when the game was pushed back. The teams will meet Friday, with rookie Sixto Sánchez pitching for the Marlins.