Tight game turns ugly as bullpen gives up five in 10th
What had been a tight, taut game for nine innings at the Coliseum on Saturday night turned ugly for the Oakland Athletics in the 10th.
Baltimore, which owns the American League’s best record, put up a five-spot in the 10th to pull out a 7-2 decision over the A’s, who own the majors’ worst record.
Adrian Martinez took the mound for Oakland (34-89) to open the 10th with the score 2-2. His wild pitch moved Adam Frazier, the placed runner, to third. Martinez then walked Adley Rutschman.
With the infield playing in, Ryan Mountcastle grounded a single to center field to bring home Frazier with the go-ahead run. Mountcastle earlier had drawn two walks. He has reached base in 25 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the majors. The Orioles (7647) scored those five runs in the 10th on only two hits. The second was a two-run, two-out single by James McCann to make it 7-2. The A’s had the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the 10th, but Jacob Webb struck out pinch-hitter Tony Kemp, Lawrence Butler and Aledmys Díaz to end the proceedings.
Díaz came into Saturday with two homers this season. He entered Sunday with four. He got to former Oakland lefty Cole Irvin for a shot to left-center leading off the bottom of the second inning for the game’s first run. Then with the A’s down 2-1 in the sixth, Diaz took former Oakland right-hander Shintaro Fujinami deep to left to tie the game.
Starter Ken Waldichuk provided the A’s other main bright spot Saturday. A St. Mary’s alum, Waldichuk gave up two runs — solo homers in the fourth inning by Austin Hays and McCann — on four hits in 52⁄3 innings.
The left-hander struck out seven — including Jordan Westburg three times — and walked three. Over his past three starts, Waldichuk has given up five earned runs in 162⁄3 innings (2.70 ERA) with 18 strikeouts.
“I think it’s just been staying on the attack,” Waldichuk said about his recent surge. “Making it like a race to two strikes and trying to get there quicker rather than later.”
A’s manager Mark Kotsay said Waldichuk “is just understanding how to pitch a little bit better. … It’s not just about throwing as hard as you can. It’s about the execution of the pitches and mixing your pitches, being able to use the changeup behind in the count. I think we saw some of that tonight.”
The A’s saw Baltimore’s Felix Bautista work a 1-2-3 ninth as he improved to 8-2. The 6-foot-8, 285-pound right-hander has put up numbers this season that range from the ridiculous to the absurd: a 1.54 ERA in 581⁄3 innings with 30 hits allowed and 109 strikeouts.
Briefly: The Orioles entered Sunday leading the AL East by 2½ games over Tampa Bay. … A’s outfielder Esteury Ruiz, who tops the American League in steals with 48, was cut down for the ninth time this season. McCann threw a strike to second to nail Ruiz trying to steal in the first inning. Ruiz had reached base when Irvin hit him with a pitch. Ruiz also got hit by a pitch in the 10th. Ruiz leads the A’s with 15 HBPs. … The announced attendance was 18,213 on “Star Wars” Drone Show night.