A’s rally for three in seventh inning to beat Brewers
Offense finally breaks out after not scoring for 19-plus innings
OAKLAND — The agony of watching the A’s trying to score runs this month eased some Tuesday as the A’s shook off their torpor to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-3 in the opener of a two-game set at the Coliseum.
Held to two runs or less in eight of their first 16 games this month, the A’s were shut out for the first four innings against a pitcher they’d never seen before, Jimmy Nelson. A run-scoring grounder from Stephen Vogt in the fifth ended a streak of 19 1/3 innings without having scored, and that seemed to loosen things up in the Oakland dugout.
“Our at-bats were way better in the last three innings than they were in the first five,” manager Bob Melvin said. “Early on, it felt like the last few days. Then all of a sudden toward the end of the game, when it was on the line, it seemed like our atbats were a lot more intense, a lot more focused.
Marcus Semien had three of the A’s 13 hits, including tying the game with an RBI hit in the sixth, then padding a 3-2 lead with a couple of RBI on a triple an inning later. Both of those hits came with two out.
“We’ve stayed hungry as an offense,” Semien said. “But we’ve had nothing to show for it; we haven’t been scoring any runs.”
That’s true enough. The 29-41 A’s have gone just 512 in June in part because they’ve scored two or fewer runs in eight of the 17 games so far this month.
Oakland had been shut out Sunday and limited to one run Saturday. But Semien suggested the club has been good about not getting down on itself even as the offense has floundered some with No. 3 hitter Josh Reddick having missed almost a month with a fractured left thumb.
Of course it wasn’t over when Semien’s triple made it 5-2. The Brewers got a couple of doubles off reliever John Axford in the eighth to cut the lead to two runs.
Ryan Dull took over to get three quick outs, all the while preserving his streak of not allowing an inherited runner to score against him. He’s stranded all 30 he’s faced.
“We’ve talked about him so many times, we’re passed knocking on wood when we talk about him,” Melvin said. “He’s as good as anybody in baseball in those situations. And it’s not easy.”
A’s starter Sonny Gray, who now has made nine unsuccessful starts for his fourth win, gave the A’s six innings, but said after the game ``you want to go out for the seventh’’ but said after 100 pitches he understood why he didn’t. Sean Doolittle took over and got the win with the help of Dull and Ryan Madson, who got the save, his 13th.
Outfielder Andrew n Lambo, who has spent the majority of the season playing with Triple-A Nashville, underwent surgery last Friday after being diagnosed as having testicular cancer. Further care is pending the results of pathology and imaging tests. In a tweet, Lambo said thanks for the good wishes and added “I’m going to beat this and be back on the diamond.”
Said manager Bob Melvin: “We’ve all got our fingers crossed for him. He’s a pretty gregarious guy who fits in well in the clubhouse. At some point in time we figured we’d see him here this year, but right now, this is what he’s got going, and this is a lot more important.”
The A’s called up n infielder/outfielder Arismendy Alcantara from Triple-A to add versatility. He took the roster spot of demoted lefty reliever Daniel Coulombe. The 24-year-old Alcantara was picked up by the A’s about two weeks ago in a trade that sent Chris Coghlan to the Cubs. He’s the current Pacific Coast League leader in steals, perfect on all 26 attempts.
Danny Valencia was n hit on the left wrist by a pitch and was in obvious pain in the third inning. The medical crew checked him out and he remained in the game to run the bases. More than that ``when he came back in the dugout he gave a thumbs’ up,’’ Melvin said. “That was good to see.
Right fielder Josh Reddick n didn’t get a second game with Nashville on his injury rehab Tuesday, the Sounds game being rained out. The A’s want to see him play about five games before getting him back from the disabled list.
Disabled starter Henderson n Alvarez is en route down south to visit with Dr. James Andrews, the orthopedist who performed surgery on Alvarez’s right shoulder 11 months ago. Twice Alvarez has gotten within one start of being ready to join the A’s and twice the 2014 National League All-Star has had to be shut down with shoulder pain, including Saturday.
Sean Manaea could be n back from the D.L. and in the A’s rotation next week.
Disabled lefty starter n Rich Hill will throw a threeinning simulated game in the A’s bullpen Wednesday, after which the A’s will decide what’s next for the eight-game winner.