Sunday, August 18, 2013
Associated Press
OAKLAND, CALIF.
Stephen Vogt can really fly. Especially for a catcher, as he cheerfully points out.
With the game tied in the seventh, Vogt took off from first on Eric Sogard’s two-out double and beat the throw home to score the go-ahead run in Oakland’s 3-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Friday night.
Yoenis Cespedes hit a two-run homer in the first, and Sogard came through yet again with a timely hit.
The A’s gained ground on first-place Texas in the AL West race for the second straight day, pulling within a half-game after the Rangers lost at home to Seattle.
Former A’s fan favorite Nick Swisher tied the game at 2 in the seventh with an RBI single, and winner Sean Doolittle (4-4) walked the bases loaded before getting out of it with only the one run.
Swisher, booed at every chance, grounded out with runners on first and second to end the eighth.
Grant Balfour pitched the ninth for his 31st save in 32 chances, allowing a one-out walk to Carlos Santana and Michael Brantley’s single before Asdrubal Cabrera lined into a game-ending double play as the A’s held on to win for the first time in five tries this year against the Indians.
Cleveland All-Star Justin Masterson (13-9) lost consecutive decisions for just the second time this season. He allowed three runs and seven hits in 72/3 innings after coming off his shortest outing of the year, 41/3 innings in which he allowed five runs and seven hits against the Angels.
He is still looking for his first victory in the Oakland Coliseum. He dropped to 0-5 with a 7.71 ERA in six appearances and five starts.
“We couldn’t catch a break,” Masterson said. “We were getting some good at-bats. We got guys on, we weren’t able to get that extra one.”
A’s starter A.J. Griffin escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fifth but his pitch count climbed in a hurry and he was done after five innings and 104 pitches. The right-hander’s winless stretch reached three starts since getting victories in four of his previous five outings.
“That many pitches in five innings and you’re feeling good about yourself,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “But when you get to the bullpen, this is one of the few teams who can run some pretty good guys out there.”
The A’s held on in their home ballpark after being swept in a four-game series in Cleveland from May 6-9, being outscored 21-8.
The Indians matched a season high by stranding 13 baserunners.