OAKLAND, Calif. _ Ryon Healy hit a one-out two-run home run in the ninth inning Sunday to give the A's an 8-6 win over the Detroit Tigers, their second walk-off win in as many days.
It came again against Francisco Rodriguez, scoring Jed Lowrie, who had earlier doubled home Rajai Davis to tie the game. The A's had lost three previous series coming in to the game and appeared to have wasted an encouraging if hard-luck effort by Sonny Gray and yet another home run by Yonder Alonso.
Santiago Casilla, who pitched a 1-2-3 top of the ninth, was the winning pitcher, with reliever Ryan Dull getting off the hook for an apparent loss.
Dull had come on after Gray labored through 36 pitches to get two outs in the top of the fifth inning and wound up being charged for three runs, only one of which was earned.
Up until that point, Gray had thrown 62 pitches through the first four innings, showing a fastball in the 93 to 94 miles per hour range. What Gray lacked was good luck, as check swings and defensive swings accounted for big Detroit hits.
The A's led 4-1 going into Gray's fateful fifth inning, courtesy of Alonso's ninth home run of the season and fourth in the series, a two-run shot. They led again at 5-4 on a run-scoring single by Trevor Plouffe in the fifth, but didn't score again after McCann had given Detroit the lead.
Dull, having been given a one-run lead, promptly lost it in the top of the sixth inning when he walked Jim Adduci and then surrendered a two-run home run to McCann to put the Tigers up 6-5. The home run came on an 0-2. It was the sixth home run for McCann, who came in hitting .143.
The A's got the lead back in the bottom of the fifth when Plouffe delivered a two-out run-scoring single against Daniel Norris. It scored Khris Davis, who singled to open the inning.
Gray exited in the bottom of the fifth inning, charged with three unearned runs to tie the game, having thrown 36 pitches to get two outs and 36 in the inning.
The Tigers got a one-out infield single by Dixon Machado, who advanced to second on a passed ball. Andrew Romine reached on an error by Alonso, but the Tigers eventually scored on a an RBI single by Miguel Cabrera and another run-scoring single on a defensive swing by Victor Martinez that rolled into left field for a hit.
Gray departed at that point, with Dull throwing a wild pitch to score the tying run.
Alonso muscled up for the fourth time in the series in the fourth inning, connecting on a two-run shot in the fourth inning off Norris with Ryon Healy aboard following a leadoff walk.
The Athletics got a pair of run-scoring doubles from Adam Rosales and Rajai Davis in the bottom of the third to take a 2-1 lead.
Chad Pinder opened by reaching on an error by first baseman Miguel Cabrera, who mishandled a throw from Detroit second baseman Dixon Machado, and came all the way around to score when Rosales' shot to left center got past a diving Andrew Romine for a double.
Rosales advanced to third on a deep fly to left by Brian Maxwell and scored when Davis doubled down the left field line.
Detroit's first run off Gray in the third inning was borne of good fortune.
Machado, the No. 9 hitter, hit a one-out blooper over the head of A's second baseman Jed Lowrie with one out, took second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on Romine's grounder to second.
Nicholas Castellanos, attempting to check his swing, instead hit a roller over the first base bag which went for a double, scoring Machado with the first run of the game.
