Rookie Williamson homers, drives in winning run in 12th to lead Giants past Yankees, halting skid.
OAKLAND — It hasn’t been much more pulsating for the A’s all year than it was Saturday night at the Coliseum. Maybe it wasn’t just a thrilling aberration, either.
All within about 10 minutes, Kendall Graveman finished off what would be the A’s first complete game of the year, Jake Smolinski smacked a tying two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning and rookie Ryon Healy followed with a game-winning solo blast to give Oakland a 4-3 comeback victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Best of all, a crowd of 30,436 was on hand to see the A’s third walk-off win this week and their sixth win in nine games since the All-Star break. Most of the fans came to see a postgame fireworks show, but the pyrotechnics started early thanks to a couple of players who could be major figures in Oakland’s future.
“Two really loud sounds by a couple of young players who are getting a chance to play every day,” said manager Bob Melvin. “It’s exciting to watch.”
Indeed, some of those 30,436 may come back to just see more baseball after this latest victory. Graveman certainly left a positive impression with his fourth straight win, and an economical 102-pitch nine innings of work that appeared might go for naught.
But the A’s offense, which basically had been dormant against Tampa starter Drew Smyly and setup man Matt Andriese for eight innings, finally woke up in a big way against Rays closer Alex Colome, who had previously converted all 21 of his save opportunities this season.
Not this time. Khris Davis drew a leadoff walk, and, after an out, Smolinski walked up to the plate ready for what he wound up getting.
“First-pitch fastball,” he said. “I saw him the other day, and he grooved one and I took it. After that, I saw his cutter-slider that was pretty nasty. So I told (hitting coach Darren) Bush I was going to be ready for that first-pitch heater if I got it again, and I did.”
Location for his sixth homer of the season?
“Pretty middle,” Smolinski said with a smile.
Then, after a second out, Healy provided the frosting, a 3-2 bomb off Colome (1-3) that ended it. The rookie third baseman went into “battle mode” when he fell behind 0-2, worked the count full, then got his own fastball down the pipe and squared up every bit of it for the second big-league homer of his eight-day career so far.
“It didn’t really hit me until I rounded second, and I saw Wash (third base coach Ron Washington) going crazy,” Healy said. “It was awesome seeing the guys there and how excited they were, seeing the bullpen sprinting in. So I kind of slowed my jog down to enjoy it.”
It was a bit of justice for Graveman (5-4), who gave up three runs, two of them scoring on bloop singles. More often, the 23-year-old right-hander was pounding his sinker in the strike zone, and hitters were driving it into the ground. He finished his complete game with seven straight outs.
Graveman has had a long run of consistent starts. He hasn’t lost since May 19, and in his 11 starts since, he is 6-0 with a 3.25 ERA. This might have been his most satisfying victory of all, considering how his teammates saved him.
“Wow, what a couple swings there,” he said. “That’s stepping up in a big-time situation and getting something done. I just knew that if I could keep my team in it and give them an opportunity to strike with one swing of the bat, we had a chance.”
“(Graveman) got what he deserved there in the end,” said Melvin. “Not too many hard-hit balls against him, and as the game went along, he got better.”
The A’s placed catcher n Stephen Vogt on family medical leave and promoted hot-hitting Bruce Maxwell from Triple-A Nashville. Melvin said Vogt had a “family emergency situation” but wouldn’t elaborate. The manager deferred to Vogt to comment when he returns, which the club expects to be in three days.
Maxwell, 25, was batting .321 with 10 homers and 41 RBIs in 60 games with the Sounds. The left-handed hitting catcher was hitting .643 over his last eight games.
Maxwell, who pinch-hit Saturday and grounded to first base in his first major-league at-bat, will make his first major league start Sunday when Jesse Hahn, whom he has been catching regularly in Nashville, makes his return to the major league mound.
To make room on the 40man roster for Maxwell, the A’s moved right-handed relief pitcher Fernando Rodriguez (strained right shoulder) to the 60-day disabled list.
Rich Hill is scheduled n to throw a bullpen session Sunday with a protective covering over the healing blister on his left index finger. There is still no timetable for Hill to return to pitching.