SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Wilmer Flores drew a bases-loaded walk on the ninth pitch from Mason Miller with two outs in the 10th inning to bring home Willy Adames and send the San Francisco Giants to a 1-0 win against the Athletics on Saturday night.
Miller (0-2) intentionally walked Mike Yastrzemski to bring up Flores with the game on the line a night after the Giants slugger hit three home runs with a grand slam and drove in eight runs in a 9-1 win. Miller walked LaMonte Wade Jr. to start the inning with Adames as the automatic baserunner at second.
Camilo Doval (3-1) tossed a perfect ninth for the win in the 2-hour, 23-minute game.
A sellout crowd was treated to a pitcher’s duel in what for so long was called the Bay Bridge Series but is now being deemed the “Highway 80 Series” since the A’s relocated from Oakland to West Sacramento for what is expected to be three seasons before a planned move into a new ballpark in Las Vegas.
Landen Roupp, facing the Athletics for the first time, struck out five and allowed five hits pitching six scoreless innings for the Giants before giving way to Randy Rodríguez in the seventh.
A’s starter Luis Severino escaped a jam in the third. He walked Flores in the third to load the bases the struck out Jung Hoo Lee and Heliot Ramos to end the threat.
San Francisco’s rotation will have a new look next week, when Hayden Birdsong starts Tuesday against Kansas City and Jordan Hicks moves into the bullpen.
Key moment
Hoo Lee made a sensational catch on the wall in center field to rob Brent Rooker of a likely extra-base hit for the A’s in the first. Tyler Soderstrom followed with a double, making the defensive gem a crucial one.
Key stat
The A’s starters are 1-5 over their last 10 games.
Up next
Jeffrey Springs (5-3, 4.27 ERA) takes the mound for the A’s in the series finale while 42-year-old Justin Verlander (0-3, 4.31) tries again for his first victory of the season in his 10th start since signing a $15 million, one-year contract with the Giants.
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