OAKLAND, Calif. _ It felt like it was never going to end. But when it did, Wednesday's marathon of a game proved to be totally worth it for the A's.
After nine innings of baseball that lasted over four hours weren't enough, the A's and White Sox engaged in what turned out to be the third-longest game in history at the Oakland Coliseum at five hours and 48 minutes. Matt Olson sent the small portion that was left of an announced 13,321 fans home happy as he crushed an 0-1 curveball from James Shields off the wall in left field for a 12-11 victory in the 14th inning.
The Olson walk-off was the climax of a rally that started with two outs in the 14th. A single by Marcus Semien was followed up by back-to-back walks from Jed Lowrie and Khris Davis to load the bases before Olson's late heroics.
While Olson got the Gatorade bath and pie in the face at the end, rookie reliever Lou Trivino also played a huge role.
After making his major-league debut the previous night, Trivino provided the A's with three sharp innings out of the bullpen, allowing just two hits and no walks with four strikeouts to keep the game tied long enough for Olson's walk off.
Lowrie appeared to be the hero of the day in the eighth inning. Continuing his run as one of the best hitters in baseball to start the season, Lowrie launched a two-run homer off Luis Avilan to cap off a late-inning comeback and put the A's ahead 11-10. But closer Blake Treinen was unable to make it hold up.
After recording the first two outs of the ninth, Treinen allowed back-to-back hits, a double by Wellington Castillo and single by Tim Anderson, to tie the game. Though it was a blown save for Treinen, he settled in and gave the A's three innings of four-hit ball.
The recent string of impressive performances by the A's starting rotation came to a screeching halt.
After A's starters combined for three wins and allowed just two runs over 22 innings the past three games, Wednesday's 10-8 loss to the White Sox became a bullpen game after a short outing from Andrew Triggs.
Entering the day with a 2.86 ERA through his first three starts, Triggs had trouble finding the strike zone. After allowing a run in the first inning, Triggs allowed the first four batters of the second to reach base, two via walks, before surrendering a grand slam to Yoan Moncada to dig the A's (9-10) into an early 6-1 hole.
After hitting Jose Abreu with a pitch later in the inning, Triggs was pulled by manager Bob Melvin. He was charged with six runs on five hits with two walks and no strikeouts as he lasted just 11/3 innings.
The A's offense also turned it into a bullpen game for the White Sox by getting to starter Carson Fulmer early.
Mark Canha, who superstitiously continued to wear a ski mask during the game after swinging the bat well the previous two nights, continued his hot hitting at the plate by leading off the bottom of the second with a solo homer over the wall in left field. Two more runs would score in the second as Fulmer left the inning without recording a single out.
