OAKLAND, California (AP) – Seth Brown hit a double-run double in the sixth inning, Cristian Pache made another spectacular defensive play and Oakland defeated the Baltimore Orioles 2-1 on Tuesday-evening for the Athletics’ smallest home crowd in 42 years.
A day after their lowest attendance for a home opener with no coronavirus restrictions in more than 30 years, the A’s drew a crowd of 3,748 – the smallest with fans at the Coliseum since 3,180 witnessed a 6-4 loss against the Chicago White Sox on September. 25, 1980.
Elvis Andrus and Christian Bethancourt both had two hits and scored to help Oakland to its seventh win in 10 games after a 0-2 start. The A’s also got a lift from their bullpen, as four relievers combined for four shutout-innings.
“Another outstanding job from our bullpen,” said rookie manager Mark Kotsay. “The mentality down there is 27 zeros and it showed a bit tonight. All in all a very nice evening for us. We didn’t swing the bats very well, but we scored one more than them, so a good result.”
Anthony Santander and Trey Mancini each had two hits for the Orioles, whose $48 million payroll is the latest in the majors. The A’s are in 29th place with $58 million.
Brown, who threw a runner out of rightfield at home the night before, came through at the plate. After Bethancourt singled and Andrus walked, Brown lined an 0-1 pitch from Mike Baumann (1-1) to center right.
Pache, part of the trade that sent two-time Gold Glove first baseman Matt Olson to the Braves, added to a growing list of great plays he’s made for the A’s as outfielder Ramon Laureano serves out the remainder of his 80-game suspension. for testing positive for a banned substance, which extended to the first 27 games of this season.
“He’s now changing his game defensively,” Kotsay said.
Pache robbed Kelvin Gutiérrez of a hit in the second inning when he crashed into the midfield fence when the ball shot out of his glove, reached out and caught the ball as it tumbled to the turf. Gutiérrez approached second base and slapped his left hand on his batting helmet incredulously as Pache stood up, smiled and bowed.
“The first thing that came to mind was that I had to have that ball,” said Pache through a translator. “That’s how I like to play. I play hard, I play with all my heart. The coaching staff and the players, they continue to trust me. They have confidence in what I can do and that brings a lot of emotion.”
In the eighth, Pache ran Austin Hays’ deep drive to center and made the catch just in front of the wall.
“To be as young as he is, as confident as he is, gives us a nice spark to the team,” said Zach Jackson, who earned his first big league save. “Every time he’s there, it feels like he’s going to do something exciting.”
Zach Logue retired four batters to win his Major League-debut. Jackson knocked out Santander with a checked swing with a runner first to end it.
The Orioles scored a run off Cole Irvin in the first. Santander singled, Ryan Mountcastle doubled and Mancini followed with an RBI-grounder.
TO START
Chris Ellis pitched 4 1/3 innings without giving up a run after being called up by Triple-A Norfolk before the game started for the Orioles. The righthander threw most of his outing around traffic, giving up four hits with three walks and two strikeouts.
Irvin, whose 15 losses led the American League in 2021, gave up six hits in five innings.
ROSTER MOVES
Orioles outfielder DJ Stewart was named to make way for Ellis on the 40-man roster. RHP Marcos Diplán was given an option on Norfolk.
TRAINERS ROOM
Athletics: 3B Kevin Smith is wearing a walking boot and will be assessed Monday night for a possible leg injury after a tricky slide to first base. Kotsay was unsure whether Smith should be on the injured list.
NEXT ONE
Orioles RHP Jordan Lyles (0-1, 5.23 ERA) has three wins in eight career appearances against Oakland. A’s RHP Daulton Jefferies (1-1, 1.93) makes his fourth career start and first against Baltimore. Due to the weather, the start of the game has been postponed to 15:07
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