Willi Castro doubled home Dawel Lugo with the tiebreaking run in the top of the 11th inning Friday night, allowing the visiting Detroit Tigers to avoid a two-loss night with a 5-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics.
The win came following a 7-3 A's win in the completion of a suspended game, with three relievers combining to shut out the Tigers over three innings more than three months after rain had halted a matchup Oakland was leading in the seventh inning at Detroit.
The A's led the regularly scheduled game 4-0, but the Tigers forced extra innings with two late two-run rallies before pushing across the difference-maker against the seventh Oakland pitcher, Paul Blackburn (0-2), in the 11th.
Lugo led off the inning with his third hit of game, a single, and was sacrificed to second by Travis Demeritte.
Blackburn then struck out Grayson Greiner for the second out before Castro lashed his double to right field.
Joe Jimenez survived a leadoff single by Jurickson Profar in the bottom of the 11th to record his sixth save. Rookie John Schreiber (1-0), who got the final two outs of the 10th inning, was rewarded with his first major league win.
After the A's used a four-run second inning to get an early jump, the Tigers rallied into a tie on a two-run home run by Christin Stewart in the seventh and a two-out, two-run single by Lugo in the eighth.
Stewart's homer, his eighth of the season, ended the shutout bid of A's right-hander Homer Bailey, who was seeking his third win of the season over the Tigers. The veteran had limited Detroit to three hits in six innings on Friday before walking Miguel Cabrera to set up Stewart's blast in the seventh.
Bailey was pulled two batters later, charged with two runs on five hits in 6 1/3 innings. He walked one and struck out three.
Josh Phegley highlighted Oakland's big second inning against Tigers starter Spencer Turnbull with a two-run double.
Turnbull couldn't finish the inning, pulled after allowing four runs and four hits in 1 2/3 innings. He walked three and struck out two.
Greiner, Stewart and Cabrera joined Lugo in the multiple-hit category with two apiece for the Tigers, who beat the A's for the first time in five tries this season.
Profar had three singles for the A's, who were outhit 11-6.
--Field Level Media
Detroit | Oakland | |
Spencer Turnbull | Player | Homer Bailey |
No Decision | W/L | No Decision |
1.2 | IP | 6.1 |
2 | Strikeouts | 3 |
4 | Hits | 5 |
21.60 | ERA | 2.84 |
Detroit | Oakland | |
Dawel Lugo | Player | Jurickson Profar |
3 | Hits | 3 |
2 | RBI | 0 |
0 | HR | 0 |
3 | TB | 3 |
.600 | Avg | .600 |