Veteran starter Matt Harvey carried a shutout into the sixth inning to continue his pleasant late-career resurgence and didn’t have to stress too much after getting a big early lead as the Orioles topped the Oakland Athletics, 8-4, on Saturday at RingCentral Coliseum.
The victory to ensured a series win for the Orioles on the first leg of their two-city tour out west.
Harvey wasn’t perfect, but he didn’t have to be with a 6-0 lead after three innings. He had a long first inning thanks to the Orioles not turning a double play, but was in control otherwise.
He walked three without recording his first strikeout until the final out of the fifth inning, and got two quick outs in the sixth inning before a single by Matt Chapman and a run-scoring double by Seth Brown chased him.
The 32-year-old Harvey still won his third straight decision with 5 2/3 innings of five-hit, two-run ball, lowering his ERA to 4.06. The last time Harvey had an ERA as low as this after April was 2015 — his first season back from Tommy John elbow reconstruction, when the Mets went to the World Series.
Gifted a six-spot
The Orioles’ six-run third inning began badly for Oakland as DJ Stewart reached on an error to begin the inning and a single and walk loaded the bases for Austin Hays. Hays singled to left-center field to score two, and a third run came across when the A’s attempt to get Cedric Mullins out at third base led to a throwing error.
Hays scored when Trey Mancini skied a single into short left field that shortstop Elvis Andrus dropped on a basket catch attempt. Mancini went on to score on a scorched sacrifice fly by Ryan Mountcastle, and Maikel Franco rounded out the scoring by coming across on a wild pitch.
DJ’s adventure
DJ Stewart was hitless in his last 21 at-bats before golfing a two-run home run to right field in the sixth inning for his second home run of the season.
Two innings later, he survived a scary moment when he hit the side of his head on a padded awning above the on-field bullpen in foul territory in the Coliseum while catching a ball. Stewart, who missed time in August 2019 with a concussion after being hit in the head by a fly ball, remained in the game.
Bullpen relaxes
Manager Brandon Hyde wanted a big margin to let the bullpen relax, and relax they did. Cole Sulser allowed one of Harvey’s runs to score and another of his own on a home run by Mark Canha in the seventh, and Dillon Tate recorded the last five outs around a home run by Ramón Laureano. In between, Tanner Scott pitched a scoreless inning.
