A’s take advantage of Giants collapse in the ninth
SAN FRANCISCO — The last-place San Francisco Giants dominated the first-place Oakland A’s for eight innings at Oracle Park on Friday, smacking three home runs and cruising to a five-run advantage thanks to a smooth outing from starter Johnny Cueto.
Baseball games, of course, don’t end after eight innings.
Another jaw-dropping defensive mistake from a Giants defense that has made dozens in the first three weeks of the season gave life to an Oakland rally before A’s right fielder Stephen Piscotty clubbed a game-tying grand slam in the top of the ninth against Giants closer Trevor Gott.
With a new extra-inning rule in effect, the
A’s took their first lead of the game without recording a 10th inning hit thanks to a Mark Canha sacrifice fly and held on to deliver the Giants a crushing 8-7 defeat after closer Liam Hendriks shut down San Francisco’s offense.
With one on, one out and one already in thanks to Matt Olson’s solo home run into the left center field bullpen in the top of the ninth, Gott induced a grounder to first baseman Wilmer Flores that could have turned into a game-ending double play ball off the bat of left fielder Robbie Grossman.
Flores initially jogged toward first base for a force out, but made a last-second pivot and spun toward second in a misguided effort to get the lead runner. Shortstop Brandon Crawford appeared surprised by Flores’ throw as he took his foot off the base while opting to tag A’s center fielder Mark Canha.
On a play where both Grossman and Canha were oh-so-close to being out, a replay review showed both were safe. Gott proceeded to hit the next batter, A’s designated hitter Khris Davis, in a two-strike count before Piscotty came to the plate.
If cardboard cutouts could talk, the 10,000plus at Oracle Park would have been silenced when Piscotty’s flyball left the bat.
The fact Gott was in the game in the bottom of the ninth and Brandon Belt, the team’s best defender at first base, was not were calls made by first-year manager Gabe Kapler, who has taken his fair share of criticism for several late losses the Giants have suffered this season.
It’s unusual for a team to use its closer
with a five-run lead in the ninth inning, but probably even more surprising that the Giants’ best defensive unit wasn’t on the field. Kapler had substituted Crawford in as a defensive replacement earlier in the game, but Belt remained on the bench.
The late-game miscues have become all-too-common for the Giants this season, and they were particularly disappointing for the club on Friday after Opening Day starter Cueto outdueled Oakland A’s rookie phenom Jesus Luzardo.
Cueto became the first Giants starter to top 100 pitches this season with seven innings of two-run ball against a tough Oakland lineup. After carrying a no-hitter into the bottom of the sixth inning at Dodger Stadium last weekend, Cueto brought a onehitter into the top of the seventh on Friday at Oracle Park.
On a rare 80-plus degree night along the shores of McCovey Cove, the pitcherfriendly Oracle Park wasn’t so kind to Luzardo as he gave up home runs to Giants veterans Evan Longoria and Hunter Pence.
Longoria’s first-inning home run traveled 400 feet out to left center field and gave the Giants a 1-0 lead before Pence clobbered a 406-foot, three-run homer into the new visitor’s bullpen beyond the right center field wall in the third inning.
After starting the season 2-for-32 at the plate, Pence hit a three-run home run for the second time this week as his pinch-hit blast in Houston on Tuesday sparked a 7-6 come-frombehind win over the Astros.
Longoria’s solo shot gave the Giants an early jolt against Luzardo but it was his two-run single with the bases loaded in the fourth that brought an early end to the rookie left-hander’s evening.
Longoria’s single cut through the left side of the infield at 99.2 miles per hour, marking the seventh hardest-hit ball the Giants had in 3 1/3 innings against Oakland’s starter. The Giants finished the night with a season-high nine balls with exit velocities above 100 miles per hour, besting their previous high of eight set on July 29 against the Padres.
A 6-0 cushion provided Cueto with plenty of breathing room against a tough A’s lineup, but the Dominican Republic native didn’t need much of it. A’s right fielder Piscotty hit a single in the third inning, but that was all the damage Oakland did until Canha singled and Grossman tripled in the top of the seventh.
Cueto received a mound visit from Kapler after giving up the triple, but appeared to convince his manager he could finish off the inning and ultimately did so despite giving up a RBI groundout.
The 104 pitches Cueto threw Friday marked his most in a start since he tossed 105 over 6 2/3 innings in a 4-3 win over the Colorado Rockies on September 19, 2017.
After Tony Watson need