SAN FRANCISCO _ The A's were down to their final strike, down to their final out. Mark Canha represented the go-ahead run at the plate with runners on the corners. A familiar foe in Trevor Gott on the mound a second day.
Canha launched a home run into left field, giving the A's a 7-6 lead and eventual win over the San Francisco Giants.
It was no five-run comeback, but A's pulled off the impossible again.
Burch Smith hadn't allowed a run all season. Against the team that traded him to the A's this spring, he allowed his first in the green and gold. Darin Ruf took a two-strike fastball deep to left field to give the Giants a 6-3 lead in the seventh inning.
But, something was up. After throwing a 91-mph fastball _ well below his 95-mph average _ Smith called for manager Bob Melvin and a trainer to meet him at the mound, and he left the game.
Sean Manaea made the start Saturday afternoon against the San Francisco Giants with Frankie Montas, originally slated to pitch in the series, out with upper back tightness.
Montas may skip his start this round, with Tuesday's game at the Arizona Diamondbacks the earliest manager Bob Melvin could peg a possible Montas return to the mound. Mike Fiers will start Sunday's Bay Bridge series finale.
Saturday afternoon, Marcus Semien hit his second home run of the year, a two-run shot 404 feet off Kevin Gausman in the third inning to give the A's an early lead.
Manaea's fourth-inning woes followed him to San Francisco. He tossed three shutout innings, allowing one hit. Then Austin Slater led off the fourth with a walk and Donovan Solano singled. Mike Yastrzemski tripled and scored on Semien's error at third base.
But, Manaea ended up with his best start of the season. Through four starts, Manaea hadn't been able to escape the fifth inning. Nor had he been able to keep his earned run count below four runs.
He accomplished both Saturday; he bounced back in the fifth inning and his day ended with five innings, two earned runs and five strikeouts.
Gausman struck out 11 A's batters in his 5 2/3 inning outing. Matt Olson hit his eighth home run off him to tie things up in the sixth inning. All of Olson's last seven hits have been home runs.
