Oakland A’s beat Dodgers in 10th inning to avoid new franchise record for worst start

OAKLAND — The A’s avoided the ignominy of a winless homestand to open the season and a new franchise-worst start when Mitch Moreland delivered an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning Wednesday for a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The A’s had started the season with six straight losses, matching the 1916 Philadelphia A’s record for futility.

With Mark Canha opening on second base in the bottom of the 10th, Jed Lowrie drew a walk off Dodgers reliever Jimmy Nelson, and Canha went to third on a fly to deep center by Ramon Laureano.

With one out and the infield playing in, Moreland touched off a celebration with a single to right-center to end the game before a crowd of 8,131 where the fashion choice was skewed toward Dodger blue.

Coming as it did after six losses where the A’s had been outscored a combined 50-13, it was a welcome relief.

“We’ve been needing that one, kind of waiting on it,” Moreland said in a video conference. “It was a hard-fought game today. Take that one into the road trip, carry that momentum over. It was a good one to get.”

Yusmeiro Petit (1-0) was the winning pitcher, stranding the Dodgers’ free runner in the top of the 10th inning and getting two flyouts and a strikeout.

Reliever Jimmy Nelson (0-1) took the loss for the Dodgers. Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen came on with a 3-2 lead in the ninth inning but surrendered the tying run on a sacrifice fly by shortstop Elvis Andrus.

Matt Chapman came alive for the A’s after being mired in a 2-for-21 slump with 10 strikeouts, hitting a seventh-inning home run off starter Trevor Bauer to get the A’s within 3-2 and starting the game-tying rally in the ninth with a single off Jansen.

The A’s now head on a five-game road trip to Houston and Arizona feeling as if a pressure valve had been released in the clubhouse.

Getaway day started as if a seventh straight loss was in the offing when starter Jesus Luzardo walked three men in the first inning, gave up one run, and by the end of two innings had thrown 54 pitches.

Luzardo, however, righted himself and pitched into the sixth. He ended up giving two runs in 5 1/3 innings.

“I think over the last six games we all just got tired of getting our (butts) kicked,” Luzardo said. “After the first inning, I said internally, I’m done with it. I’m done getting embarrassed. I think a switch clicked in my head.”

Luzardo’s ability to keep the A’s close rather than let another one get away was not lost on manager Bob Melvin.

“To deal with what he did in the first inning, it was fantastic,” Melvin said. “That’s really kind of taking it to another gear with the act that he has such a rough first and the next thing you know he’s in the sixth.”

Bauer, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner from Cincinnati who signed a three-year, $102 million free-agent deal, gave up two earned runs in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out 10 and walked one.

The second run came on Chapman’s home run, but the first run was created courtesy of center fielder Ramon Laureano.

Laureano was hit by a pitch to open the fourth and stole second. Then with Bauer paying him no mind at second base, Laureno stole without a throw and then scored on a wild pitch for the A’s first run.

“That’s not the way we draw it up offensively but it’s just the kind of player he is,” Melvin said. “He was going to take advantage of a guy that was slow to the plate.”

What a relief

Luzardo was followed by a parade of five relievers — Adam Kolarek, Sergio Romo, Jake Diekman, Lou Trivino and finally Petit.

In the seventh, Romo gave up the Dodgers third run after just four pitches — Chris Taylor was hit by a pitch, Corey Seager singled and Justin Turner doubled — but pitched his way out of the inning without further damage.

In the ninth, Trivino came on after Diekman gave up a leadoff single and managed to pitch a scoreless inning despite throwing 28 pitches and walking two batters.

“Lou coming back to the form we saw a couple years ago would be welcome with what we’re going through bullpen-wise and not having Trevor,” Melvin said.

The A’s began the day with the news that Trevor Rosenthal, signed during free agency to assume the closer’s role from the departed Liam Hendriks, was considering shoulder surgery which would make for an extended absence.

Brown steals a home run

Seth Brown, who made his first start after being called up from the minor league complex in Stockton, stole a home run bid by the Dodgers’ Austin Barnes with a leap against the fence on a towering fly ball.

“Brownie’s play gave me goosebumps, psyched me up a little bit,” Luzardo said.