OAKLAND, CA (AP) – The Oakland Athletics are surging after struggling mightily at the start. The Minnesota Twins are reeling yet celebrating finally getting back on the diamond.
Matt Olson hit a grand slam, Mitch Moreland homered twice to back Sean Manaea’s shutout, and Jesus Luzardo followed with his own Game 2 gem as Oakland swept a doubleheader against the depleted Twins, 7-0 and 1-0 on Tuesday to run their winning streak to 10 games.
”We’re on a wave,” Luzardo said, quoting the A’s latest winning catchphrase, ”and we’re just riding it.”
The nightcap featured a delay of nearly 25 minutes because of a light bank in left field that lost power. Luzardo stayed loose under the (limited) lights and the ballpark DJ played Simon & Garfunkel’s ”Sound of Silence” and Journey’s ”When the Lights Go Down in the City.” Only part of the light bank eventually came back on.
”We got out of our way to not look at things like that, because we’ve got to look at what we need to do to win,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said of the lights.
The left-handed Luzardo allowed two hits over 5 1/3 innings, struck out six and walked one.
Lou Trivino retired former A’s star Josh Donaldson on a called third strike to end the sixth with the tying run on third following a wild pitch. Jake Diekman finished for his first save with two runners on, getting a great catch from Mark Canha at the warning track in left to finish it on a deep fly by Willians Astudillo.
Although both games were only seven innings, the A’s earned shutouts in both ends of a doubleheader for the first time since Vida Blue and Catfish Hunter did so facing the Royals on Sept. 9, 1974. The Dodgers were the last to accomplish it in the majors, on Aug. 27 last year against the Giants.
In the opener, Moreland connected for a two-run homer in the second inning and a solo drive in the fourth off Matt Shoemaker (1-1).
Manaea (2-1) allowed six hits, struck out seven and walked one over seven innings, throwing 95 pitches for his second career complete game and shutout – the lefty no-hit the Red Sox at home on April 21, 2018.
This outing was right up there with his best, and Manaea has become more comfortable with his distinct pitching style.
Luzardo (1-1) – the eighth lefty starter Minnesota has faced in 11 games – brilliantly followed Manaea, and the A’s got Seth Brown’s RBI single in the fourth off right-hander Jose Berrios (2-2).
”To be honest we don’t want to be in the position we are right now but tomorrow’s another day, we have another chance to play like a team,” Berrios said.
In Game 1, Olson made it 7-0 with his fourth-inning slam through a blustery wind.
”It really helps when guys are hitting bombs like that and getting on base and then hitting bombs just makes it even better,” Manaea said. ”It makes the game a little bit easier what that’s going on.”
The A’s own the longest winning streak in the majors this year, topping Boston, which won nine in a row from April 5-14. Oakland is 11-1 since starting the season 0-6.
Minnesota finally got back on the field following three postponements because of COVID-19 protocols.
The Twins’ scheduled series opener in Oakland was delayed, forcing the doubleheader. Minnesota missed games Saturday and Sunday against the Angels in Anaheim.
The Twins have had at least four positive coronavirus tests in the past week – Andrelton Simmons, Kyle Garlick, Max Kepler and a team staff member. Garlick, Kepler and South Dakotan Caleb Thielbar were placed on the COVID injured list Tuesday. Thielbar has not tested positive, but has been determined to be a close contact.
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