A’s, Kendall Graveman beat Orioles
Oakland had a breakthrough in the sixth, with Billy Butler’s two-out single giving the A’s the lead for good held in a 3-2 win at the Coliseum that snapped Oakland’s losing streak at three games.
Catcher Stephen Vogt, who scored Oakland’s first two runs, added a two-out RBI single in the seventh to give the A’s a two-run cushion and Oakland survived the next two innings.
Reliever Ryan Dull gave up a home run to Manny Machado in the eighth, but Ryan Madson pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to finish off the American League East leaders.
“It’s a new game, it’s a 0-0 ballgame, you’re throwing new pitches and you like to think that the last two weeks, three weeks, four weeks, you’ve been throwing the ball well and try not to think too much on an outing that wasn’t so good three months ago,” Graveman said.
In the fifth inning, the rookie had to contend with a broken bat while fielding a ball hit by Johnathan Schoop before throwing to Yonder Alonso for the out.
During the weekend’s three-game series against the Cubs, the A’s scored three runs and batted .151.
Oakland has been shut out four times in the past 28 games and ranks last in the American League in on-base percentage.
When Sonny Gray was put on the 15-day disabled list Sunday, Graveman was left as Oakland’s only starter who hasn’t been on the DL this season.