Beat the best team in baseball? Yes please
Oakland got back in the win column on Friday evening in Philadelphia, topping the team with the best record in baseball by beating the Phillies 6-2.
Left-hander and new dad Hogan Harris got the ball today for his eighth start of the year. Philadelphia struck first when former Athletics prospect Cristian Pache smacked an RBI double to give Philly the early lead. A walk loaded the bases but Harris held the damage down to just the one run.
Facing 2024 All-Star Ranger Suárez, the Oakland offense had their work cut out for them heading into this one. There wasn’t much action for the first couple of innings but the third saw the A’s break through for three runs to retake the lead. Three separate RBI singles from Miguel Andujar, Brent Rooker, and Shea Langeliers did the damage:
Hittin’ it where they ain’t pic.twitter.com/92vKN2YZDO
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) July 12, 2024
Still don’t know how Rooker isn’t an All-Star this year.
Staked to a 2-run lead, Harris took the mound again in the bottom half looking for a shutdown inning. He wouldn’t get it as he allowed a 2-out RBI single to cut into the lead. That would be it for Harris tonight as he got the short hook after just three innings, though he was already at 70 pitches. Right-hander Osvaldo Bido took over for Harris and tossed three scoreless frames, allowing just one hit with two strikeouts.
With the lead down to one the A’s kept up the pressure on Suárez. Another RBI single from Langeliers in the fifth gave Oakland an insurance run, and then Lawrence Butler smacked a clutch 2-run blast in the eighth to pad the lead:
Law left no crumbs pic.twitter.com/cbL3iYSVPX
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) July 13, 2024
That blast was Butler’s sixth of the year and it felt like the nail in the coffin for the Phillies here in the series opener. Now it was down to the bullpen to finish off this game.
After Bido’s pristine three frames came lefty Scott Alexander for a scoreless frame, and then after him TJ McFarland and Lucas Erceg combined for a scoreless eighth. Even with a four-run lead, manager Mark Kotsay didn’t wasn’t to mess around and brought out All-Star closer Mason Miller for the save opportunity. He locked it down like it was nothing, allowing just one single while recording a pair of strikeouts. Very nice outing for Miller in a tune up outing for the All-Star Game.
Baseball is weird. The team with the second-worst record in the American League came into Philadelphia and beat the team with the best record in baseball. They did it thanks in large part to an offense that got to All-Star starter Ranger Suárez, but the bullpen pulled more than its own weight after a short start from Hogan Harris. Right-hander Osvaldo Bido in particular came through big tonight, soaking up three innings and saving the rest of the bullpen for the rest of the series.
The teams lock horns again tomorrow afternoon in the middle game of the series. The Athletics will march out right-hander Mitch Spence while the Phillies will counter with rookie righty Tyler Philips, who will be making his first career major league start. Sounds like a good opportunity to jump on an inexperienced arm and secure a series win if you ask me.
