OAKLAND, Calif. _ Matt Chapman scored what turned out to be the winning run on a play in which he was originally called out as the Oakland Athletics beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-2 Monday night at the Coliseum.
Chapman, attempting to score from second in the third inning after Orioles catcher Chance Cisco threw the ball into right field, was called out by John Libka when a throw from Baltimore first baseman Chris Davis appeared to beat him at the plate. The call was overturned on instant replay to the delight of a crowd of 12,345.
That turned out to be the winning run as Athletics pitchers Mike Fiers, Liam Hendriks and Blake Treinen kept the Orioles in check. Baltimore scored twice against Fiers (7-3) and both runs were unearned. Hendriks went 1 1/3 innings to set up Treinen, who earned his 16th save with a 1-2-3 ninth.
The win gave the Athletics a 37-36 record, with Baltimore a major league-worst 21-51.
Fiers got the first two outs of the seventh inning before walking Rio Ruiz and giving up a single to Hanser Alberto. Manager Bob Melvin brought in Hendriks, who ended the inning by betting a called strike three on Davis.
Fiers gave up just three hits and threw 93 pitches, 63 of them strikes. He was nearly matched by Andrew Cashner (6-3), who gave up four hits in six innings with one earned run before Jimmy Yacabonis took over in the seventh.
The Athletics, having opened the scoring in the first inning when Marcus Semien doubled and scored on Matt Olson's single to right, added a pair of unearned runs on an unsightly play by the Orioles in the third.
Josh Phegley was hit by a pitch to open the inning, with Semien working Cashner for a nine-pitch walk and Matt Chapman reaching on an infield single.
Olson was next, and his infield chopper forced Phegley at the plate for the first out. Cisco then threw wildly to first, with Semien coming in to score and Chapman steaming around third. Davis threw to the plate and Chapman was called out at home. However on replay, the ruling was reversed and Chapman scored to put the Athletics up 3-2.
Pedro Severino singled to open the second for the Orioles, who then proceeded to get two runs on bunt plays. On a Rio Ruiz sacrifice, Chapman rushed in from third and threw the ball away down the right field line. Severino came around to score, with Ruiz making it all the way to third.
Hanser Alberto was next, and his squeeze bunt brought home Ruiz for the second run, neither of which was earned.
