Rally extends win streak to 3
Before Thursday’s game, A’s manager Bob Melvin used the word “moxie” in reference to starter Cesar Valdez, making his first big-league appearance in nearly seven years.
That characterization could have applied to much of Melvin’s team against Seattle. Oakland bounced back from an early deficit to take the lead and end James Paxton’s scoreless start to the season, withstood a game-tying rally by the Mariners, and won 9-6 at the Coliseum.
For the first time since Aug. 8-10, the A’s have won three games in a row at home. They’re back at .500, and they’re in second place in the division, three games behind Houston. They’ve scored 18 runs the past two days, and played consecutive games without an error, too, after 11 games in a row with at least one.
“It looks like guys are running to the plate to hit,” leadoff man Rajai Davis said. “We’ve got a lot of confident guys right now and we’re getting some really good swings at a lot of baseballs.”
The A’s will be without Davis, however, for at least one game. He felt his left hamstring grab when he hit the bag at third in the fifth inning and things didn’t improve over the next few innings
“We’ll have a better idea (Friday), but I think it will be a lot better,” he said.
Valdez, making a spot start while Kendall Graveman is on the disabled list, hadn’t worked in the big leagues since May, 2010. Valdez allowed five hits and three runs in the first two innings. He retired seven of the final eight men he faced, and though he didn’t factor in the decision, leaving after four innings with the game tied, he provided some inspiration.
“The last seven years, I didn’t really think I’d get a chance to come back to pitch in the major leagues, so it was exciting for me to come out and pitch,” Valdez said, with Juan Dorado interpreting.
“It’s great to see very competitive guys like that (who) don’t take no for an answer end up coming back to the big leagues,” Melvin said. “You know they have some moxie.”
Falling behind the Mariners with Paxton on the mound appeared to be a poor plan Thursday. Paxton hadn’t allowed a run in 21 innings over his first three starts.
The A’s halted that streak at 23 by putting up three in the third. Jaff Decker hit a leadoff single and Davis’ single put men at the corners for Adam Rosales, a moxie-ish type if ever there were one. Rosales knocked an opposite-field single to right, sending in Decker, and when Mitch Haniger’s throw banged off the secondbase bag, Davis scored, too.
Paxton struck out the next two batters before Ryon Healy ripped a double down the thirdbase line to tie the game.
Davis struck again in the fifth with a leadoff single and raced to third when the ball snaked past center fielder Leonys Martin. Davis scored on a sacrifice fly by Rosales. Paxton allowed nine hits in 41⁄3 innings after giving up eight hits, total, in his first 21 innings.
Jed Lowrie — who turned in two nice defensive plays in the second inning — doubled with one out, Khris Davis walked and Healy banged a base hit to left to send in Lowrie and put Oakland up 5-3.
Healy is 4-for-4 with runners in scoring position over the past three games after starting the season 0-for-10. Overall, he has seven hits in his past nine atbats. “He’s off to the races again,” Melvin said.
That lead evaporated the next inning when Nelson Cruz doubled off Frankie Montas and Taylor Motter homered to center. Montas has allowed three homers and five runs over his past four outings.
The A’s regained the lead in the bottom of the inning. Josh Phegley led off with a double off former A’s reliever Evan Scribner, Decker bunted Phegley to third and Rajai Davis sent in Phegley with a groundout.
Trevor Plouffe, who struck out in his first three at-bats, hammered a three-run homer to left off Dan Altavilla in the seventh.