The Athletics faced the Toronto Blue Jays in the opener of a three-game series on Labor Day at Sutter Health Park. The Green and Gold got out to an early lead before allowing the Blue Jays to claw back late, only for the A’s to win 6-5 in walk-off fashion.
Early Offense
After A’s starter Jacob Lopez tossed a scoreless first inning, the A’s generated their first scoring chance against Blue Jays starter Dylan Cease in the bottom of that inning. Athletics center fielder Henry Bolte drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third with one out. Zack Gelof knocked Bolte in with an RBI ground-rule double, putting the hosts ahead 1-0.
With two outs, the A’s scored a second run when Toronto misplayed a rundown, allowing Gelof to slide home safely.
The Blue Jays immediately answered back. Catcher Alejandro Kirk led off the second inning with his ninth home run of the season, a solo shot just over the right field wall. If he had taken a better route, A’s right fielder Lawrence Butler would have had a chance to rob the home run.
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Lopez followed that by allowing two straight baserunners before retiring the next three hitters to preserve his team’s 2-1 lead.
A’s Run Wild Against Cease
The A’s took advantage of Cease’s weakness, as he has allowed more stolen bases than any other pitcher. Leading off the bottom of the third inning, Bolte walked and stole second for the second time in two at-bats. With one out, the speedster stole third base, his third steal of the game.
Gelof grounded to third, and it looked like Bolte was out at home, but he slid safely past Kirk’s tag attempt to tally the A’s third run of the game. Gelof then swiped second and third, putting himself in scoring position just as Bolte had done. With two outs, Carlos Cortes lined an RBI single, bringing home Gelof to give the Athletics a 4-1 lead.
Electric Bolte: One-Man Show
After showing off the speed earlier in the game, Bolte displayed his power in his third at-bat against Cease. Leading off the bottom of the fifth inning, the A’s center fielder hit his ninth home run of the season, a solo shot down the right-field line that extended his team’s lead to 5-1.
Lopez Unravels as Blue Jays Mount Comeback
Lopez kept the momentum on the A’s side by pitching three straight scoreless innings, preventing the visitors from mounting an immediate response. The lanky left-hander outdueled Cease, needing just 78 pitches to complete six innings of one-run ball.
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Lopez remained in the game an inning too long, as he failed to record an out in the seventh inning. Toronto third baseman Kazuma Okamoto hit his 29th home run of the season, a solo shot to left field. Two straight singles brought the tying run to the plate. Andrés Giménez’s RBI double made it a a 5-3 game and ended Lopez’s outing. The left-hander only recorded one strikeout, yet did a good job of pitching to contact, inducing six groundouts and nine flyouts.
A’s Bullpen Blows Save
Right-hander Luis Medina replaced him, entering with runners on second and third and no outs. The first batter he faced, pinch-hitter Josh Smith, hit a sacrifice fly to make it a one-run game. Medina escaped the jam with the Athletics still ahead. Giménez helped him out by getting caught stealing for the second out.
Medina got the first two outs of the eighth inning before letting the next two Blue Jays reach base via a single and a walk. With the tying run on second, left-hander Hogan Harris replaced Medina and escaped the jam by getting Nathan Lukes to ground out.
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Harris failed to secure the four-out save. With one out in the top of the ninth inning, Giménez tied the game with his ninth home run of the season, the Blue Jays third home run of the night.
A’s Win!
Facing Blue Jays closer Louis Varland, Max Muncy led off the bottom of the ninth with an infield single and advanced to second when Varland walked Donovan Walton. The most significant at-bat of the inning came when Bolte drew his third walk of the game. He reached base in all five of his plate appearances. If the Blue Jays had any ABS challenges remaining, that inning may have gone differently, as there were numerous close pitches that the home-plate umpire called balls.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Jeff McNeil hustled down the line for a walk-off infield single, sparing Harris’ blushes and delivering the A’s first walk-off victory since June 19.
The Athletics will look to continue playing spoiler and win a second consecutive series tomorrow. Right-hander Jack Perkins will start for the A’s, while Toronto will counter with its prized trade deadline acquisition, right-hander Jose Soriano.
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