Athletics settled for a 5-5 tie with the Dodgers on Saturday at Camelback Ranch, getting there with just four hits but enough pressure plays to hang with the defending World Series champs as spring training entered its final turn.
The A’s jumped out early, then answered again after Los Angeles pushed ahead in the middle innings. Leo De Vries sparked the offense with a triple, a single, an RBI and an aggressive steal of home, while the bullpen pieced together the final four innings to keep the game even.
Fast start, little margin
The A’s grabbed a 3-0 lead in the second. Colby Thomas doubled and stole third, Henry Bolte brought him in on a fielder’s choice and De Vries followed with an RBI triple. Then he scored on a wild pitch.
Los Angeles got one back in the third on Hyeseong Kim’s RBI single. However, Oakland answered again in the fifth. De Vries singled, moved up on a disengagement violation and scored on a heads-up double steal when Tommy White swiped second and De Vries raced home for a 4-3 lead.
Dodgers answer back
The Dodgers tied it in the fourth on Alex Freeland’s two-run homer, then pulled even again in the fifth when Jack Suwinski went deep off Luis Medina.
In the seventh, Los Angeles moved in front 5-4. Kole Myers stole second after a leadoff walk, Kellon Lindsey singled and Damon Keith brought home the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly.
A’s scratch back
Oakland’s final run came in the eighth without a hit. White reached on a throwing error, moved to third on Denzel Clarke’s groundout and scored when Carlos Cortes bounced out to third.
That fit the shape of the day for the A’s, who scored five times on four hits, stole four bases and kept forcing extra pressure on the bases. Thomas doubled and scored, Bolte drove in a run and De Vries finished 2-for-3 with a triple, an RBI and two runs scored.
Bullpen holds the line
Jacob Lopez opened with two scoreless innings, though he had to pitch around traffic in the first. Justin Sterner helped stop a jam in the third, and Diego Barrera closed the ninth to preserve the tie.
The Dodgers drew 11 walks, but Oakland’s staff limited the damage late enough to give the offense a chance to answer.
Up next
The A’s head into a split-squad Sunday to close the weekend. One group faces the Brewers in the MLB Spring Breakout at 1:05 p.m. PDT in Mesa, while the other travels to face the Rockies at 1:10 p.m. PDT in Scottsdale.
After that, the A’s host the White Sox on Monday in their final Cactus League game before Opening Day on Thursday, March 26, against the Blue Jays in Toronto.
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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.
