Semien’s slam aids Wang in first win
As the A’s continue their quest to pocket series wins, they scored a significant one this week, taking two of three from AL Centralleading Minnesota.
It took a while for Oakland’s offense to get under way, but by the eighth inning, it was all systems go in a 72 victory over the Twins at the Coliseum on Thursday. Marcus Semien hit two home runs, including a grand slam in the eighth, and catcher Chris Herrmann recorded his first career fourhit game.
“It was a big series win for sure,” Semien said. “We’ll see them again, obviously in Minnesota ( July 1821), but we hope to see them in the playoffs.”
Things were tight much of the way, and Oakland got some gutsy work from its pitching staff, especially undertheweather fifth starter Tanner Anderson, who helped save a thin bullpen by working into the fifth inning and dodging major trouble despite numerous baserunners.
Lefthander WeiChung Wang turned in more standout work, with 21⁄3 scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 1.56 and earn the first win of his career, and Lou Trivino and Joakim Soria worked a scoreless inning each.
“It was an amazing job by the bullpen,” Anderson said. “Wang absolutely killed it, 21⁄3 innings of quality pitching. It was just awesome.”
Wang was rewarded with a beer shower afterward.
“It was very cold,” he said through interpreter Sean Cheng, adding that he was especially excited to get the win because he wasn’t sure when he was pitching in Korea last year that he’d ever get back to the big leagues.
“Every time we lean on him, he comes up big for us,” manager Bob Melvin said, adding of the victory, “He earned it.”
The A’s have won 12 of their past 16 and, at 4840, have matched their season high at eight games over .500. They’re one game behind Cleveland for the second wildcard spot.
Anderson, who had allowed 10 runs over his two previous outings, allowed nine hits and two walks, so it was borderline astonishing he gave up just two runs — one of them unearned because of a catcher’s interference call on Herrmann in the first inning. Anderson had some help getting out of the first: With the bases loaded after the catcher’s interference on Ehire Adrianza’s swing, Ramón Laureano sped into the gap in leftcenter to track down a drive by Jonathan Schoop, ending the inning.
The earned run off Anderson came in the fifth, when Nelson Cruz doubled, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Adrianza’s twoout single.
Anderson, who had a sinus infection that included a fever, body aches and chills, said he got a little tired toward the end of his outing.
“Honestly, I wanted to go a lot deeper in that game,” he said. “I think I did a lot better job of mixing more, but it made the atbats longer and I threw a lot more pitches.”
Oakland’s offense was ineffective Wednesday night in a 12inning loss, and when Herrmann stepped to the plate in the fourth with two on and two outs, the A’s were 1 for their previous 18 with runners in scoring position. He smacked a single to leftcenter off AllStar José Berrios to score Khris Davis.
“I think we can do better doing some of the little things,” Semien said. “Last night, we win that game if we do the little things. But home runs have always been our identity.”
After the Twins took a 21 lead in the fifth, Semien led off the bottom of the inning with a blast to center, his 12th home run of the season, and the A’s then loaded the bases against Berrios. This time, the team didn’t get a hit with men in scoring position, but it got a run, anyway, when Mark Canha’s doubleplay grounder resulted in Matt Chapman scoring.
“It felt like we were 0for50 last night,” Melvin said. “As the game starts out, you have a guy like Berrios out there and with runners on, he gets tougher . ... After what was a really tough loss for us, to be able to come back against their best pitcher shows what these guys are all about.”
Davis ended an 0for12 funk with his leadoff single in the fourth.