A’s stop postseason skid
Bassitt has stellar outing in Oakland’s big win against White Sox
OAKLAND >> The A’s snapped some heavy postseason streaks with a 5-3 win over the Chicago White Sox Wednesday afternoon. With that, they won their first postseason game since Game 3 of the 2013 ALDS against the Detroit Tigers. It snapped a five- elimination-game streak in which the A’s lost.
Mark Canha channeled his inner Joe Rudi, making a leaping catch at the wall to rob Yoán Moncada of an extra- base hit and, presumably, an RBI or two. It wasn’t quite have the acrobatic vision Rudi put on in the 1972 World Series, but Canha turned a ball with a .590 expected batting average into a Canha corn.
It was the game’s turning point, or perhaps assured the A’s that, yes, their first postseason lead since 2014’s disastrous wild card blow up to the Kansas City Royals may not be lost.
A team dependent on comebacks and late rallies to fuel wins managed to flip the script
Wednesday, scoring four of their five runs within the first two innings. What’s more, the one-time stars who’ve scuffled all year delivered the blows against a tough left-hander in Dallas Keuchel.
One way to get some early scoring in motion is to load the bases in the first inning. The A’s managed to do that with back-toback singles from Tommy La Stella and Ramón Laureano and a Tim Anderson throwing error on Canha’s grounder.
Matt Olson, who toiled under the .200 batting average line throughout most of the season, put enough oomph behind a sharp grounder that deflected off shifting second baseman Nick Madgrigal’s glove in shallow right to score the A’s first pair of runs.
Marcus Semien, who hasn’t quite been his MVP-finalist self this year, mashed his first. postseason home run in the second inning with rookie Sean Murphy on base.
Khris Davis, who was designated to a platoon role that earned him infrequent at-bats this year, plopped the cherry on top with his solo blast in the fourth inning. That spelled the end of Keuchel’s outing.
Chris Bassitt gave the A’s the pitching performance they needed, squelching the powerful White Sox with seven scoreless innings. Even though he couldn’t find a feel for his fastball early, Bassitt spun a slew of sinkers and cutters and four-seamers to keep Chicago off balance.
He was rolling enough to convince manager Bob Melvin to let him take on the top of the order in the eighth inning. Mr. Automatic Anderson stroked his signature opposite field single into right field to lead off. That was it for Bassitt.
Liam Hendriks couldn’t hold Anderson, though, succumbing to a Yasmani Grandal two-run blast.
Once Anderson crossed home, it marked just the second earned run on Bassitt’s record over his last 34 innings.
Bassitt extended his remarkable season with seven innings, one earned run and five strikeouts.
Hend r i k s str ug g led through that eighth inning, allowing a pair of hits.
Trouble followed him in the ninth. After getting a strikeout to start the inning, Hendriks loaded the bases on a pair of hits and a walk and had to leave the game with two outs down. Jake Diekman came in and walked in the White Sox’s third run.