Harvey wins 3rd start in row, Orioles beat sloppy A’s 8-4
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Matt Harvey won his third straight start and the Baltimore Orioles took advantage of Oakland’s sloppy play to score six runs in the third inning Saturday in an 8-4 win over the Athletics.
The Athletics made two errors and threw a pair of wild pitches to help Baltimore break loose. DJ Stewart added a two-run homer in the sixth for the Orioles.
“It was an ugly inning,” Athletics manager Bob Melvin said. “It’s not typical of how we play. Over the last few years, we’ve been a really good defensive team. We did not show it that inning.”
Harvey ( 3- 1) allowed two runs and four hits in 5 2/ 3 innings, walking three with one strikeout. It marked the first time since 2018 with Cincinnati that the former All-Star ace had won three starts in a row.
“That was a veteran performance, another gutsy pitching performance by him,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “He’s just so competitive and I love the way our guys feed off of that.”
Added Harvey: “I was able to miss barrels for the most part and the guys behind me made plays. It’s nice knowing that I can have those days that are not great, don’t feel great, not throwing my best stuff, and be able to battle through it and be able to go 5 2/3 and keep runs off the board.”
Oakland starter Jesús Luzardo (1-3) lasted just three innings, giving up six runs, although only three were earned. He gave up five hits and two walks and threw two wild pitches.
Mark Canha and Ramón Laureano homered for the A’s. Seth Brown and Tony Kemp also drove in runs for Oakland, which has lost five of seven. Baltimore has won three in a row.
Austin Hays drove in the game’s first two runs with a single in the third inning, and a throwing error by third baseman Matt Chapman on the play let another run score.
Trey Mancini and Ryan Mountcastle added RBIs in the inning, which began with Stewart reaching on Brown’s error at first.