A’s lose, Semien stuns former team with shot
The Oakland A’s scored 10 runs and lost, 11-10, on Marcus Semien’s walk-off three-run home run off Sergio Romo in the ninth inning. The A’s blew a sixrun lead in one of their most deflating losses of the season.
The A’s offense kept the momentum pumping to generate the big lead late, but the bullpen surrendered six runs in the eighth inning, punctuated by Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s game-tying grand slam.
Lou Trivino, in his first outing since he blew consecutive saves last month, walked leadoff batter Breyvic Valera, gave up a hit to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and hit Bo Bichette with a pitch to load the bases. Yusmeiro Petit walked in a run, and Gurriel Jr. launched his first pitch cutter for the grand slam to make it 8-8 heading into the ninth.
Mark Canha took back the momentum in the top of the ninth with a two-run homer. But Romo allowed a single to Valera and a double to George Springer before Semien ended the game with a blast to left field.
The A’s offense built a healthy lead against Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah, who struggled with his control. The A’s struck early, putting up two runs on Matt Chapman’s bases-loaded double in the first inning.
Manoah gave the A’s bench a scare in the fifth
inning, hitting Starling Marte on the side of his helmet — much to the chagrin of the A’s bench, Manoah stayed in the game. Marte stayed in the game, too, taking his base. He and Josh Harrison, who was also hit on the hand by a pitch, scored on Matt Olson’s RBI double to give the A’s a 4-2 lead.
Canha drew a walk from
the wild Manoah and Tony Kemp hit a two-run home run to extend the A’s lead, knocking Manoah out of the game.
Oakland didn’t stop with Manoah out. Chapman struck again in the seventh inning, hitting a tworun single against Nate Pearson.
Sean Manaea answered a troubling August in which he accrued a 9.90 ERA by looking like his old self. A two-run home run to Teoscar Hernandez was the only mark
on his seven-inning outing in which he threw just 86 pitches, struck out nine and walked none. MORELAND’S SEASON MAY BE OVER >> Designated hitter Mitch Moreland is in a splint for at least two-tothree weeks and could miss the rest of the regular season, manager Bob Melvin said before the game. He was placed on the IL on Aug. 31 with left wrist tendinitis.
“We’ll see where that takes us, certainly the rest of the regular season is in jeopardy at this point,”
Melvin said, adding Moreland is seeking a third opinion on the source of his wrist pain.
Jed Lowrie will be used primarily as the DH against right-handed pitching, though he is dealing with some pain in his hand and calf.
Khris Davis should get at-bats as a DH against lefthanders. He made his anticipated return as a pinch hitter in Thursday’s game, where he collected two hits — an RBI double and a single — in three at-bats.