Big innings costly; Oakland can’t sweep
BOSTON — As well as the A’s have played against the Red Sox this season, it’s still tough to go into Fenway Park and pull off a sweep, especially with Chris Sale on the mound for the home team.
Oakland couldn’t overcome Sale, nor a pair of three-run innings by the Red Sox, falling 6-4 on Wednesday. But the A’s took the series two games to one and already had the season series sewn up, winning four of the six games.
“I don’t know what they thought about us before,” A’s shortstop Marcus Semien said, “but I’m sure they respect us now.”
For the second night in a row, Stephen Piscotty provided Oakland’s top highlight. On Tuesday, Piscotty delivered an emotional moment, homering in his first at-bat following his mother’s funeral Monday and holding his hand over his heart, then tapping his chest and looking skyward as he scored.
On Wednesday, Piscotty turned in an extraordinary catch in the sixth inning, racing toward the stands along the right-field wall, hauling in a foul ball just as he reached the seats and then falling headfirst into the crowd, flipping upside down.
“I felt like I had a good jump on it, I could get there, it was just a matter of figuring out that wall,” Piscotty said. “I haven’t played here much. I kind of got lucky, honestly, sort of threw my glove up there and was able to not get hurt and make the catch.”
Piscotty emerged holding up the ball — a couple of fans even helped him up and told him, “Good catch.” But the call was initially ruled no catch. After a replay review, the inning ended, the phenomenal effort officially in the books.
“That was amazing,” manager Bob Melvin said. “I saw him go in the stands; I wasn’t sure if it was in his glove or not. Great play, as good as you’ll see.”
Trevor Cahill, just off a 10day stay on the disabled list with an elbow impingement, wasn’t sharp at the start, allowing back-to-back singles, a run-scoring grounder and then a two-run homer by J.D. Martinez in the first. Cahill said his sights were a little off on his changeup — it was low, so he adjusted up, and left one too far up to Martinez.
Cahill threw 35 pitches in the inning, a lot for a player coming back from an injury, but he settled in well from there, allowing two hits over the next four innings. Cahill retired nine in a row before leaving after the fifth.
“We started mixing in more sinkers and sliders,” Cahill said, adding that catcher Jonathan Lucroy did “a good job, that’s what he does, of getting me through the game when I didn’t have my best stuff.”
Ryan Dull took over and had a sixth inning much like Cahill’s first, giving up an infield single, a walk and a three-run homer by Xander Bogaerts.
Oakland’s runs also came on homers, but the A’s didn’t have as much success filling the bases beforehand. Semien hit a two-run shot off Sale in the fifth — his second off Sale in 12 career at-bats — Matt Joyce hit a pinch-hit solo homer off Heath Hembree in the seventh and Matt Olson a solo homer off Craig Kimbrel in the ninth.
Sale (4-1) has allowed no more than three runs in each of his 10 starts this season — and Cahill has allowed no more than three earned runs in any of his five starts.
With Cahill coming off the DL, outfielder Jake Smolinski was sent down to Triple-A Nashville, but Melvin said Smolinski was “realistic” about the decision.
“Jake wants to play,” Melvin said. “He knew it was coming, and he wants to go get some at-bats and work his way back here, like he has many times.”
Smolinski was batting .118 with no homers and two RBIs in 16 games, and with Mark Canha’s ability to play center field, Smolinski’s playing time shrunk. He appeared in three games in May.
With Smolinski going to Nashville to play every day, the A’s released outfielder Slade Heathcott this week. Heathcott was batting .266 at Nashville.