A's Bullpen Implodes, Guardians Walk It Off on Dollar Dog Night 3-2

(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)

CLEVELAND, OH -- Paul Blackburn took the hill on Friday night with a look of determination in his eyes and attempted to help lead the Athletics to a win to snap their nine-game losing streak. Oakland got ahead early via the long ball, taking McKenzie deep on two solo shots in both the first and second innings. A's Manager Mark Kotsay opted to stick with Blackburn all the way into the 8th inning, avoiding his shaky bullpen for as long as possible. Dany Jimenez took the ball for the A's and instantly crumbled. Jose Ramirez led the inning off with a solo shot to the right-field porch, and the rest of the Guardians lineup followed suit. Cleveland went on to shock the A's in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the 9th, with Luke Maile hitting a sacrifice fly to right field to score Oscar Gonzales and win by the final score of 3-2.

Oakland starter Paul Blackburn tossed the longest outing of his career with 8 full innings of shutout baseball. Oakland's bullpen continued their self destruction with yet another blown save, giving up all 3 earned runs on the night.

Jose Ramirez continues to tear the cover off of the baseball this season, launching two doubles and a homer on Friday night. Oscar Gonzales became the club's first-ever rookie to get a base hit in 13 of his first 14 games in his career.

The Guardians will look to take the first three games of the four-game set on Saturday afternoon. The first pitch is set for 4:10 pm ET at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio. Listen to the game on WTAM 1100 or the iHeartRadio app!


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content