BATTLING BACK
Oakland finds inspiration in Laureano’s rallying cry at dark moment
Before Chad Pinder hit the home run to save the A’s season, before Liam Hendriks nailed down the victory with three innings in relief, Ramón Laureano had something to say Wednesday.
It was something that fired Pinder up before his three-run homer tied the score in the seventh inning and sent the A’s on their way to a 9-7 victory over the Houston Astros in Game 3 of the American League Division Series at Dodger Stadium.
“This ain’t over,” Laureano told his teammates. “This ain’t our last game. And we aren’t going to let it be our last game. We’ve been through too much, had too many good things happen through the season to leave here and get swept.”
Game 3 had three dramatic lead changes in a roller-coaster ride of an afternoon.
Pinder’s 360-foot blast in the seventh was the shortest of the 18 home runs in the series but was by far the most impactful. The three-run shot to right erased a 7- 4 deficit and gave Oakland the momentum
needed to see another game.
An anchor in the A’s clubhouse despite no defined position, Pinder was just hoping to get something in the air to capitalize on having runners on the corners and nobody out. Something to break through a barrier that kept the A’s from producing in this series when opportunities arrived.
To Pinder’s surprise, his opposite-field drive drifted just far enough to clear the right-field fence, beyond Kyle Tucker’s outstretched glove, and kept the A’s alive.
Pinder thrives when he can calm himself in big moments. It helped that Marcus Semien and Tommy La Stella singled to set the table before Pinder stepped into the batter’s box.
But Pinder could still hear Laureano’s words.
“’ You struck a chord with me, man,’ ” Pinder told his teammate after the win.
When Pinder later spoke in a video conference with reporters, the third baseman added, “I just got chills thinking about it. That was a pivotal moment for us, for sure. I just keep getting chills all over my body because that’s huge. We needed someone to step up.”
Until then, Oakland seemed destined for the short end in another round of Home Run Derby.
Game 3 started as the previous two games had, with the A’s taking an early lead. This one came courtesy of four solo home runs. La Stella started the slugfest with a 415-foot shot to center that put Oakland in front 1- 0 in the first inning.
The Astros, the designated home team for the first time in the series, claimed the advantage in the bottom of the first. José Altuve hit a solo shot to tie the score and then, with runners on the corners, La Stella’s weak throw from second on a potential inning- ending double play helped make it 2-1.
The A’s feasted on Houston starter José Urquidy, who was hanging his breaking balls. Mark Canha, Matt Olson and Semien hit solo home runs to give the A’s a 4-2 edge.
Then, deflation.
A’s starter Jesús Luzardo had been rolling, getting ahead in counts and holding the Astros scoreless through three innings. Houston caught up to him in the fifth.
The rally started with a leadoff walk to Yuli Gurriel. Aledmys Diaz, who followed, worked back from an 0-2 count to drill a fastball over the left-field fence to tie the score 4- 4.
With reliever Yusmeiro Petit summoned to the mound, Houston taught the A’s a lesson in hitting with runners in scoring position, stringing together four hits from the heart of the order for a 7- 4 lead.
The fifth-inning rally was a snapshot of how the series had gone for the A’s. Petit allowed four earned runs in 21 2/3 innings during the regular season. Houston put up four against him in one inning this series, including three Wednesday.
It looked as if the bullpen couldn’t mask the offensive deficiencies much longer. The A’s had opportunities to bust the game open in their favor but failed.
After Semien’s home run in the fourth, Oakland loaded the bases with a walk and Pinder’s single — the A’s first single of the game. Khris Davis, batting cleanup for the first time since July, couldn’t get all of a fastball in the zone and flied out. After Olson walked to load the bases, Canha popped out to extinguish a prime opportunity.
But the A’s eventually found some magic.
Nine outs from elimination, it was only right that the steadiest hand righted the A’s ship. Pinder’s return from a hamstring strain at the end of the regular season has been one of the more crucial comebacks of the year. The 28-year- old utilityman has made himself an irreplaceable leader with considerable pop in his bat and excellent defensive prowess despite never settling into a consistent role.
His two-run single in Game 3 of the wild- card series not only was the A’s only hit with runners in scoring position that series, but also provided the winning runs in the do- ordie game. His at-bats have been so good that manager Bob Melvin opted to have him bat third these last two games.
“He’s getting a great opportunity right now and taking advantage of it in a time when usually you aren’t afforded these types of opportunities,” Melvin said. “I can’t say enough about him. He’s been fantastic.”
And as it turned out, Laureano even amped himself up. His first hit of the series was a bloop double that set up the go-ahead scoring opportunity in the eighth. The A’s pushed across two runs on a pair of sacrifice flies by Sean Murphy and Pinder.
Hendriks, who entered in the seventh inning with the score tied 7-7, had to whip out his “Hercu-Liam” alter ego to keep the Astros from adding to their run total. He did just that. After not throwing more than 30 pitches in any outing in the regular season, Hendriks threw 49 in Game 2 of the wild- card series and got the save in Game 3. Wednesday, he escaped a game-tying threat in the eighth by striking out pinch-hitter Josh Reddick on a 98 mph heater.
“He’s a guy that swings f irst pitch, especia lly against me,” Hendriks said.
Reddick broke his bat in frustration.
Hendriks finished off the game by retiring George Springer, Altuve and Michael Brantley in the ninth to complete a 37-pitch outing and season-saving victory.