Wendle feels right at home with slam
PHILADELPHIA — Growing up near Philadelphia, Joey Wendle dreamed of coming to the plate and hitting a gamewinning home run for the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
On Sunday, he beat his hometown team, hitting a go-ahead grand slam in the sixth inning to lift the A’s to a 6-3 win over the Phillies.
“I’ve done that plenty of times in backyards, so it was certainly really fun today,” Wendle said.
He was one of three rookies to hit a home run for Oakland. With the A’s trailing 3-2 with two outs in the sixth, Wendle lined the first pitch he saw from reliever Edubray Ramos into the right-field seats, quieting the crowd of 28,054.
Oakland had loaded the bases with two walks and a single. The grand slam was Wendle’s first home run of the season and the second of his career.
Wendle, who went to high school in West Grove, Pa., said he barely remembered running around the bases.
“It’s one thing to hit a grand slam to put your team ahead. It’s another when you do it at home,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. “And this is a close-knit group of guys, especially the younger guys that we brought up, and Joey’s been with them, so they were really happy for him.
Fellow rookies Chad Pinder and Matt Olson hit back-toback home runs in the fourth inning, erasing an early 2-0 deficit. Olson has homered in three consecutive games and has 17 home runs since Aug. 11.
Sean Manaea (11-10) lasted five innings to earn the win. He gave up three runs and struck out four. Five Oakland relievers combined to throw four hitless innings to preserve the win. Blake Treinen converted his 11th save with a scoreless ninth.