Oakland – Just another night of great baseball for the A’s, they clinched a spot in the postseason and reclaimed the Bay Bridge trophy. Matt Olson’s three-run homer and Chris Bassitt’s outstanding night on the mound was enough to shutout the San Francisco Giants 6-0.
Bassitt held the Giants scoreless through 6 2/3 innings. He allowed three hits, gave up three walks and struck out seven. Bassitt’s ERA dropped to 2.57 and he recored his 10th start this season. His overall ERA 2.92 is the fifth lowest among pitchers in the West divisions.
“He’s been absolutely terrific,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin. “You look at his overall numbers, his ERA, everything he’s done in a short season. He’s probably the guy who got off to the fastest start in Summer Camp, but he deserves all the accolades. He’s a bonafide big league starter right now, and he had to work hard to get there.”
Tonight Bassitt didn’t have to work that hard, in the first frame Marcus Semien got on base with a walk, Mark Canha grounded out up the middle and a throwing error by second baseman, Donovan Solano put both runners in the corner. Jack Lamb singled on a ground ball that was deflected by Solano and Semien scored.
“Yeah that first run’s big,” Melvin said. “It’s huge, games like this, to knock that first run in and guys follow-up behind it and we get a nice lead, we get a well pitched game and all of the above and score a bunch of runs. It started with Jake’s hit. He’s made a huge impact since he’s been here, I know he’s feeling good.”
By the third, Olson took over. Semien hit into a force out. Canha walked, and Olson followed with a three-run homer to the right field bleachers. That gave Oakland a 4-0 lead. San Francisco had nothing to stop the surging A’s. Oakland added two more runs in the fourth when both Tommy La Stella and Semien drove in one run each.
“I think we have a lot bigger goals, said Bassitt postgame. “This team is extremely hungry for a lot bigger things than just the playoffs. It’s awesome, but we basically just acted like it was another game. I think once we win the division, there might be a little celebration.”
The A’s clinched a spot in the postseason with their victory tonight. This will be there third consecutive appearance in the playoffs. The Magic Number is 1, while they’ve had a phenomenal season, Oakland has not won the American League West since 2013. This time they have another opportunity to get past a division win.
In the meantime, bragging rights resume as the A’s reclaimed the Bay Bridge Trophy again. A series of games between the Giants have been a fan favorite over the the last three years. Oakland won it in 2018, while San Francisco hoisted the trophy at Oracle Park last summer. Today, the A’s captured the victory after winning four out of six games this season.
Game 2 of the series is tomorrow at 1:10 pm.
