The Athletics’ spring record slipped to 1-6 on Saturday, undone early by one brutal second inning in an 8-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants at Hohokam Stadium.
Oakland had chances to hang around. The A’s collected eight hits and put runners on in several innings, but the Giants’ six-run burst in the second created a gap that never really closed.
Six-run second flips the day
Luis Morales was charged with the loss after San Francisco turned a 0-0 game into a 6-0 hole in the second.
Will Brennan doubled to open the inning, and after a walk, Christian Koss’ soft single brought home the first run. Heliot Ramos followed with another RBI single, the bases filled and catcher Eric Haase delivered the swing that broke it wide open, a grand slam to left-center.
San Francisco finished with 15 hits and went 6-for-19 with runners in scoring position.
A’s scratch back, too late
Oakland’s best early look came in the fourth when Tyler Soderstrom singled and Shea Langeliers doubled, but Jeff McNeil grounded out to end the threat.
The A’s finally scored in the seventh. Cade Marlowe tripled to right and scored on Michael Stefanic’s infield single to make it 6-1.
San Francisco added two more in the eighth on Jean Carlos Sio’s solo homer and Tyler Fitzgerald’s RBI double. Oakland answered with another run in the ninth when Marlowe walked and eventually scored on a fielder’s choice that also included a throwing error by Giants pitcher Will Bednar.
Marlowe reached twice and scored two runs, giving Oakland some late life, but the early damage decided it.
Up next
The A’s play the Reds at 12:05 p.m. PT.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
