A’s strike first in final Battle of the Bay

JP Sears shut down the Giants for 7 innings while Law and Rook kept up their dominant Julys.

The final Battle of the Bay is here and the Oakland Athletics swung the first punch.

With both teams taking a half-seller, half-not approach to the trade deadline, neither team is looking to lay down for the final two months of the season. The San Francisco Giants are hoping to play themselves back into the wild card race while the A’s are trying to sustain their newfound mojo, translate it into a hopefully competitive 2025, and prove out their controversial decision not to trade Brent Rooker.

Oakland made more progress towards their goal today, putting together the type of all-around performance that’s becoming typical of the team. Their July 2024 Bash Brothers, the aforementioned Rook and Lawrence Butler, continued to deliver the way they have all month. But first, it was Daz Cameron that opened the scoring with a solo shot in the top of the 2nd inning, driving a Robbie Ray knuckle curve into the left field corner.

Law pulled up the next inning and gave a 94 mph fastball the ride of it’s life. Exhibiting his powerful swing and precise timing, the young outfielder towered the pitch high and far, all the way into the visitor’s bullpen in center field.

Rook, meanwhile, continued his tumultuous yet glorious July. He saw a 2-0 lead on the scoreboard and said, “Let’s double that.” With his Bash-mate starting the inning with a leadoff single, the powerful righty skied a four-seamer to the left-field bleachers, taking Ray out of the game with one big swing.

Pinch-hitting for Cameron, JJ Bleday completed the quartet of homers in the 8th inning. Hoping to capitalize on his opportunity as a lefty to hit one into the Bay, the A’s starting centerfielder nearly did it. Following a couple of sweepers from Taylor Rogers, Bleday jumped on a fastball with a big cut, bouncing it off the very back of the standing area atop the right field wall. Unfortunately, the bounce sent it back in and Bleday had to settle for a dry solo shot.

And yet to be mentioned, this whole time, A’s starter JP Sears was carving the Giants lineup up. Utilizing his whole arsenal to its fullest, the young lefty struck out an uncharacteristic nine batters, nearly all on his soft 92 mph fastball. He only allowed three hits and one walk along the way, pitching by far his best game of the season.

The bullpen wasn’t as stable as him, with Scott Alexander and Tyler Ferguson allowing a couple of runs in as many innings to close the game, they were able to finish the game with a comfortable 5-2 lead. With just one game left in San Francisco as a crosstown rival, unless you consider the two-hour drive to Sacramento “across town”, this 2024 squad has stamped their legacy on Oracle Park and will look to darken the ink tomorrow.