Willie MacIver delivered a two-run double in the ninth inning to lift the Athletics past the host Baltimore Orioles in a 3-2 victory Sunday afternoon.
Two of the Athletics’ six hits came in the final inning. Elvis Alvarado (1-0) notched his first major-league victory by logging the last 1 2/3 innings without allowing a hit or run.
Orioles starter Cade Povich turned in six strong innings, Jordan Westburg homered and Coby Mayo doubled in a tiebreaking run, but those contributions weren’t enough. Baltimore was limited to five hits.
The Athletics won two of three games in the series. The Orioles didn’t convert often Sunday despite drawing eight walks and were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
Brent Rooker had two of the Athletics’ six hits. They used six pitchers a day after ace and scheduled starter Luis Severino went on the injured list.
Povich, in his second big-league game across a stretch of nearly two months, held the Athletics to four hits and one run. He struck out five and walked three.
Yennier Cano and Dietrich Enns combined for two scoreless innings from the Baltimore bullpen. Then Keegan Akin (3-2), who gave up a lead-off walk to Darell Hernaiz and a one-out single to Gio Urshela before MacIver’s go-ahead double in the ninth, took the loss.
Westburg’s two-out homer in the fifth came off Ben Bowden for his 14th long ball of the season.
The Athletics pulled even in the sixth when Rooker doubled and scored on Colby Thomas’ one-out single.
Baltimore’s Alex Jackson and Mayo rapped doubles in the seventh to put the Orioles ahead.
The Orioles wasted an early opportunity when Jeremiah Jackson led off the fourth inning with a triple. He was thrown out on a one-out squeeze bunt.
The Athletics outscored Baltimore 16-8 in the series. For the season, the Athletics won four of six meetings.
–Field Level Media
