A’s beat Dodgers, earn first victory
Moreland’s RBI ends Oakland’s frustrations
The A’s avoided the ignominy of a winless homestand to open the season and a new franchise-worst start when Mitch Moreland delivered an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning Wednesday for a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The A’s had started the season with six straight losses, matching the 1916 Philadelphia A’s record for futility.
With Mark Canha opening on second base in the bottom of the 10th, Jed Lowrie drew a walk off Dodgers reliever Jimmy Nelson, and Canha went to third on a fly to deep center by Ramon Laureano.
With one out and the infield playing in, Moreland touched off
a celebration with a single to right-center to end the game before a crowd of 8,131 where the fashion choice skewed toward Dodger blue.
Coming as it did after six losses where the A’s had been outscored a combined 50-13, it was a welcome relief.
“We’ve been needing that one, kind of waiting on it,” Moreland said in a video conference. “It was a hard-fought game. Take that one into the road trip, carry that momentum over. It was a good one to get.”
Yusmeiro Petit (1-0) was the winning pitcher, stranding the Dodgers’ free runner in the top of the 10th and getting two flyouts and a strikeout.
Nelson (0-1) took the loss for the Dodgers. Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen came on with a 3-2 lead in the ninth inning but surrendered the tying run on a sacrifice fly by shortstop Elvis Andrus.
Matt Chapman came alive for the A’s after being mired in a 2-for-21 slump with 10 strikeouts, hitting a seventh-inning home run off starter Trevor Bauer to get the A’s within 3-2 and starting the game-tying rally in the ninth with a single off Jansen.
The A’s now head on a five-game trip to Houston and Arizona feeling as if a pressure valve had been released.
Getaway day started when starter Jesus Luzardo walked three men in the first inning, gave up one run, and by the end of two innings had thrown 54 pitches.
Luzardo, however, righted himself and pitched into the sixth. He ended up giving two runs in 5 1/3 innings.
“I think over the last six games we all just got tired of getting our (butts) kicked,” Luzardo said. “After the first inning, I said internally, I’m done with it. I’m done getting embarrassed. I think a switch clicked in my head.”
Bauer, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner from Cincinnati who signed a threeyear, $102 million freeagent deal, gave up two earned runs in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out 10 and walked one.