The Dodgers’ bullpen-game gamble came up empty on Wednesday, and the A’s made them pay with a 7-1 win that snapped Los Angeles’ four-game winning streak.
It started with promise, just like the first two games of the series. The Dodgers loaded the bases against J.T. Ginn in the top of the first inning, but Tommy Edman, coming off a four-hit, four-RBI performance, couldn’t deliver and Los Angeles left the bags full.
Jack Dreyer followed with a clean inning of his own, striking out the side in the bottom of the first. But the Dodgers couldn’t turn that into momentum, and the A’s flipped the game in the second.
Miguel Rojas opened the top of the second with a single, Chuckie Robinson popped up a bunt attempt, and Shohei Ohtani grounded out to Nick Kurtz. Then Charlie Barnes needed just one pitch to hand Oakland the lead, as Jonah Heim launched a 444-foot home run for a 1-0 edge.
Freddie Freeman answered right back with a homer to right field to tie it at 1, but that was about as good as it got for the Dodgers. They added two more runners in the third and still couldn’t cash in, leaving six on base over the first three innings.
Oakland seized control in the fourth. Heim drew a leadoff walk, Joshua Kuroda-Grauer doubled to put two in scoring position, and Lawrence Butler brought home the go-ahead run with a groundout. Henry Bolte followed with a single up the middle to make it 3-1.
The A’s kept piling on in the fifth. Shea Langeliers led off with his 20th home run of the season, making him the first American League catcher to reach that mark this year. Nick Kurtz then singled to right, Colby Thomas added an RBI double, and Heim picked up his second RBI of the night to cap a three-run frame and stretch the lead to 6-1.
From there, the Dodgers’ offense went quiet. After the third inning, the only thing they managed against Ginn was a walk to Kyle Tucker, who drew three on the night. Ginn worked around everything else and faced the minimum over his final three innings.
Los Angeles finally got another hit in the eighth, when Max Muncy doubled against Luis Medina with two outs. Tucker then walked again, giving him four walks in the game, the first time he has done that in a single contest.
The A’s added one more in the bottom of the eighth when Alika Williams crushed a home run to push the margin to 7-1.
Mookie Betts was a late scratch, and Miguel Rojas got a second straight start. Rojas was the only hitter in the Dodgers’ lineup to finish with multiple hits.
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