Lawrence Butler hit a game-winning single with one out in the 10th inning to go with an earlier home run as the Oakland Athletics defeated the visiting Washington Nationals 2-1 on Friday night.
Athletics pitcher Paul Blackburn remained unscored upon through three starts and Oakland won despite managing only three hits on offense.
It was the first home game for the Athletics since the announcement more than a week earlier that the team, following this season, would play home games for the next three seasons in Sacramento.
Washington’s Jesse Winker homered to lead off the ninth inning to tie the score.
Blackburn worked 6 1/3 innings. That stretched the 30-year-old right-hander’s scoreless string to 19 1/3 innings this year.
The Oakland pitching staff was three outs away from its third shutout in a six-game span. On Thursday at Texas, the Athletics won 1-0. They also beat Detroit 4-0 on April 6.
Michael Kelly (2-0) pitched the 10th for the victory.
Washington starter Jake Irvin allowed only the Butler home run and two walks in six innings. He struck out five.
Winker went 4-for-4 with a double for the Nationals, who dropped to 2-2 so far on a nine-game road trip.
Butler’s first home run of the season came with one out in the third inning. He was just 5-for-36 this season entering the game. It was his fifth career home run in 55 big-league games.
After Blackburn departed with a runner on first base and one out in the seventh, the Nationals loaded the bases with two outs as reliever Austin Adams allowed a single and a walk while recording a strikeout. T.J. McFarland was summoned and struck out CJ Abrams.
Blackburn threw 90 pitches. Lucas Erceg worked the eighth inning, but Dany Jimenez gave up Winker’s home run on a full-count pitch. It was Winker’s first homer of the season.
For Washington, Jordan Weems, Robert Garcia and Hunter Harvey were unscathed out of the bullpen. Kyle Finnegan (0-2) took the loss.
Seth Brown’s one-out single in the seventh was the other Oakland hit. The Athletics drew two walks – one each by Butler, Brown and Shea Langeliers.
–Field Level Media
