Oakland starter
Mike Fiers was playing with matches all day. His first two batters hit sharp singles but he wriggled out of the jam, finishing with a beautiful curveball for a called strikeout. The 2nd inning began with another hit, and another escape. The 3rd opened with two more runners reaching base, including a leadoff double by
Marcus Semien, and it looked like Fiers might pull it off yet again, as he fanned
Vladimir Guerrero Jr right as catcher
Sean Murphy picked the runner off first.
But the magic finally ended. The next man walked, and
Randal Grichuk demolished a three-run homer.
The Oakland A’s haven’t allowed a run since Thursday.
The A’s blanked the Detroit Tigers on Saturday by a 7-0 margin, tossing a shutout for the second game in a row. Oakland’s winning streak is now seven games, including the last three against the Tigers, pushing their record above .500 for the first time this year.
After a disastrous beginning to the year, the A’s pitching staff is finding its groove against the rebuilding Tigers. Oakland allowed an average of nine runs per game through their first five losses this year, or one turn through the starting rotation. After a dozen games, even with the team winning, they were still letting through six per contest.