The Oakland A’s Sean Murphy (12) forearm bashes teammate Tony Kemp (5) after belting a two run home run as Baltimore Orioles catcher Anthony Bemboom (right) can only watch at the Oakland Coliseum on Thu Apr 21, 2022 (AP News photo)
By Jerry Feitelberg
OAKLAND–The Oakland A’s rebounded from a tough 1-0 loss Wednesday night to down the Baltimore Orioles 6-4 Thursday afternoon by four runs. The A’s won the four-game series three games to one. A’s starter Paul Blackburn won his second game of the year.
He went five innings and allowed no runs and just three hits. Blackburn struck out four and did not walk a batter. He threw 62 pitches. Here’s how the A’s did it.
The A’s put the game’s first run on the board in the top of the third. Rookie centerfielder Cristian Pache sent Tyler Wells’ 2-2 pitch 381 feet over the leftfield wall. For Pache, it was his second dinger of the season. With one out, Tony Kemp doubled.
The A’s third baseman, Sheldon Neuse, followed with a single to drive in Kemp with the A’s second run. Sean Murphy ended Wells’ day when he singled to put two on with two out. Orioles’ manager Brandon Hyde brought in Joe Krehbiel to get the final two outs of the frame. The A’s lead 2-0 at the end of three complete.
The Orioles’ offense made the game a wee bit closer in the top of the fifth. O’s first baseman Ryan Mountcastle started the rally with a single. A’s starter Paul Blackburn retired Rougned Odor for the first out.
The next hitter, O’s right fielder Austin Hays doubled to drive in Mountcastle. Blackburn retired the next two hitters to end the threat. The A’s came back in their half of the inning to put two more on the board. With one out, Tony Kemp singled to get the rally going.
O’s reliever, lefty Keegan Akin, retired Sheldon Neuse for the second out. The next hitter, A’s catcher Sean Murphy, blasted Akin’s first pitch 411 feet over the wall in left field to give the A’s a 4-1 advantage after five innings.
The Orioles rallied to plate two runs in the top of the seventh. Ryan McKenna to start the rally. A’s reliever Justin Grimm nailed Ryan Mountcastle with a pitch to put two men on with no out. The O’s Rougned Odor singled to drive in Mountcastle. Austin Hays followed with a single to make it 4-3.
A’s manager Mark Kotsay brought in Domingo Acevedo to pitch. Acevedo retired the next three hitters to get put the fire out. The A’s maintain a narrow 4-3 advantage halfway through the seventh.
The A’s answered by pushing two more runs across the plate in their half of the seventh. With one out, rookie Nick Allen, who made his Major League debut Tuesday night, doubled for his first hit in baseball.
O’s reliever Dillon Tate retired Tony Kemp for the second out. Sheldon Neuse followed with his third hit of the game to drive in Allen. The next hitter, Sean Murphy, doubled to drive in Neuse with the A’s sixth run. Oakland leads 6-3.
The O’s refused to go quietly into the night. O’s centerfielder Cedric Mullins led off the eighth with a double. He went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly. The A’s failed to score in their half of the eighth. The A’s still lead 6-4.
Game Notes- With the win, the A’s are 6-4. The Orioles’ record is 4-9.
The hitting stars for the A’s were Sheldon Neuse, Sean Murphy, Tony Kemp, and Cristian Pache. Neuse had a double and two singles and drove in two runs. Murphy had a single double and a home run. Murphy drove in three. Tony Kemp had two hits. Cristian Pache also homered. For Pache, it was his second of the season.
A’s reliever Dany Jimenez recorded his second save as he set the O’s down in order in the ninth.
Oakland’s line score was six runs, eleven hits, and one error. Baltimore’s line was four runs, seven hits, and no errors.
The A’s meet the Texas Rangers for three games starting Friday night. Adam Oller (0-1 ERA 13.50) will pitch for the A’s, and Spencer Howard (0-0 ERA 18.00) for the Rangers will oppose him.
The time of the game Thursday was 2:50 today’s attendance 4,429 fans watched the A’s win their eighth game.