The Athletics are suddenly riding their pitching and have reeled off three-straight dubs.
J.T. Ginn opened Friday night with four scoreless innings, four relievers carried it the rest of the way, and the A’s beat the Mets 4-0 at Citi Field. The shutout stretched Oakland’s scoreless streak to 26 innings, a run that began in the second inning of Wednesday’s win over the Yankees and kept growing in the opener of this series.
That made it three straight wins for the A’s, and this one was built the same way as the last two. Pitching first, just enough offense, and a cleaner finish once the opening came.
Ginn’s first word
Ginn looked comfortable from the start.
He struck out Francisco Lindor and Bo Bichette in the first inning, then kept the Mets quiet through four. The only hit he allowed was Jared Young’s bunt single in the fourth. He finished with 4.0 scoreless innings, one hit, one walk and four strikeouts on 68 pitches.
That set the tone for another strong night from the staff. Mark Leiter Jr. followed with a scoreless fifth. Jack Perkins picked up the win with 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Scott Barlow got the final two outs of the eighth, and Elvis Alvarado closed the ninth.
The Mets finished with six hits, went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and never found the one big swing to change the game.
The first crack came early
The A’s did not wait long to get on the board.
Carlos Cortes singled in the third, Lawrence Butler walked and Nick Kurtz reached on a force play. Then Shea Langeliers lined a two-out single to right, scoring Cortes for a 1-0 lead.
That was the only run Clay Holmes allowed, but it held for a long time because the A’s kept making pitches and making plays. The sharpest defensive moment came in the sixth, when Kurtz cut down Lindor trying to advance to third before Perkins got Luis Robert Jr. to roll into an inning-ending double play.
The ninth gave them room
The game stayed tight until the ninth.
Jacob Wilson opened the inning with a single and moved to second when left fielder Carson Benge booted the ball. Jeff McNeil followed with an RBI single to make it 2-0. Zack Gelof then scored as a pinch-runner when Max Muncy doubled, and Denzel Clarke added a two-run single to center for the final cushion.
That extra breathing room mattered, even if the bullpen had looked in control most of the night.
Numbers that mattered
Wilson set the table all evening. He went 3-for-4 and scored once. McNeil finished 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Langeliers drove in the first run, while Clarke delivered the late two-run hit that put the game away.
Muncy also stayed productive, going 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored. The A’s finished with nine hits and went 3-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
The bigger story, though, was still on the mound. Another shutout pushed the scoreless streak to 26 innings and gave the Athletics another low-scoring win they never let get away.
Up next
The Athletics continue the series Saturday at 1:10 p.m. PT at Citi Field, with Jacob Lopez scheduled to start against Mets right-hander Kodai Senga.
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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.
