Mark Canha’s double helps A’s earn rain-soaked win over Giants
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SAN FRANCISCO — Mark Canha’s two-run double in the top of the seventh inning Monday looked at first like it was just going to window dressing to a convincing A’s win.
Turns out those runs were the difference in the second game of the Bay Bridge Series against the Giants at Oracle Park.
After the A’s scored four runs in the seventh, a rally capped by Canha’s extra base hit, the Giants answered with four runs of their own in the bottom half. A’s reliever J.B. Wendelken allowed a two-run single to Erik Kratz as San Francisco cut Oakland’s lead to one. But he then retired three straight batters to end the inning and help preserve what would be a 5-4 Oakland win.
A’s manager Bob Melvin said before the game that he was planning to use as many as nine pitchers, and that’s what happened.
It went as smoothly as Melvin could have hoped for in the first six innings, but Ryan Buchter ran into trouble to start the bottom of the seventh, allowing two singles and three walks as the A’s five-run lead was trimmed to 5-2.
It’s been a tough spring for Buchter, who came into Monday with a 16.20 ERA in 3.1 innings over four games. Last year in spring training, Buchter had a 9.82 ERA in 7.1 innings over eight games. He went on to pitch in 54 games, mainly in the second half of the season, and go 6-0 with a 2.75 ERA.
“He’s not throwing strikes,” Melvin said. “He’s getting behind and not throwing strikes. He didn’t have a good spring last year, either, but he knows he has to pitch better than that.”
In order to start the game, Liam Hendriks, Joakim Soria, Fernando Rodney, Lou Trivino, Blake Treinen and Yusmeiro Petit all worked one scoreless inning. Ryan Dull pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the save, as the A’s improved to 4-0 against the Giants this spring.
Hendriks struck out Brandon Belt with a wild pitch in the first inning, as Joe Panik moved to third base and Buster Posey went to second. Hendriks, though, got Evan Longoria to line out to right field to end the threat.
Jurickson Profar’s RBI single in the first inning gave the A’s a 1-0 lead in a game that didn’t begin until 8:09 p.m. because of rain, one hour and 24 minutes after it was scheduled to start. A steady drizzle continued almost throughout the evening.
Profar lined a 3-2 fastball from Giants starter Shaun Anderson to right field, scoring Matt Chapman from second base. The A’s then added four runs in the seventh, which included a two-run double from Canha, to take a five-run lead.
A’s catcher Josh Phegley started the game but came out after the first inning with a forehead contusion. He was replaced by Beau Taylor.
The series wraps up Tuesday night in San Francisco. The A’s home opener is Thursday against the Los Angeles Angels.