Davis belts slam in 10th to spur O's over A's
OAKLAND -- Chris Davis crushed a grand slam in the 10th inning to give the Orioles a series-clinching 7-3 win over the A's on Wednesday at the Coliseum.
"That was [a big win]," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "It's tough. Everybody is working on short sleep. There's a lot of opportunities there to give in, and our guys didn't. You want to start the road trip off winning a series because now we are going to a couple tough venues [in Anaheim and Seattle]."
The slam was Davis' second of the season and the sixth of his career. It came off Arnold Leon, who allowed all four runs in the 10th.
"I was trying to go away to get a ground-ball double play, but I didn't execute very well the way I wanted to," Leon said.
Kendall Graveman surrendered three earned runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings for the A's, while Wei-Yin Chen yielded three earned runs on four hits in five innings for the O's. The teams traded scoreless innings from the seventh through ninth until Davis' mammoth shot to left-center.
Video: BAL@OAK: Davis on grand slam in 10th, Orioles' win
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Victory slam: The Orioles' first baseman hit his second grand slam in 12 days, again breaking a tie and putting Baltimore up big. Davis, who has been red hot of late, has 28 homers and 79 RBIs on the season.
"I feel like I'm seeing the ball well right now," Davis said. "Being patient for the most part … these guys made some really good pitches throughout the series to me. Just hitting their spots. … You try to take advantage of the situations where we have runners in scoring positions and not do too much and just get one run in. And a lot of times when you're just trying to do a little you get rewarded with a lot." More >
Video: Must C Clutch: Davis blasts a grand slam in the 10th
Chen's recent struggles continue: The lefty had made six consecutive quality starts but has now been unable to complete six innings in three straight outings. Chen was the O's ace the first half of the season, but struggled again on Wednesday, laboring through five innings. He gave up three runs on four hits and four walks.
"Ever since the second half started, I've felt not as good as the first half so I tried to do a couple different [mechanical] things that didn't work out," Chen said through his interpreter. "So now, I don't want to keep doing that."
Video: BAL@OAK: Chen strikes out Canha to escape a jam
Taking one away: Billy Burns robbed Adam Jones of a potential game-tying home run in the sixth inning. The O's still scored two runs in the frame to knot the score, but Burns' impressive play helped ensure the inning didn't get out of hand.
"Great catch," Graveman said. "We've seen that out of him all year and we'll continue to see that throughout his career. Every time you think maybe there's not a chance, he still gets to the baseball.
Video: BAL@OAK: Burns makes excellent leaping catch at wall
Not his day: The A's recalled Leon from Triple-A Nashville on Monday, planning to give him a longer look. He struggled mightily in his first appearance back with the club, allowing two singles, a walk and the Davis blast.
"[Beginning with] the Manny Machado [single] -- he goes the other way and they go first and third right now and we're in a bit of a tough spot," A's manager Bob Melvin said of how the inning started. "[The count] goes to 3-2. The ball was down, but Davis is a pretty good low-ball hitter, and on a 3-2 count he was looking for a fastball there." More >
QUOTABLE
"I made the joke -- that's about as long as I last anyway starting. So if he had me in one more inning we would have been in trouble."
-- Orioles closer Zach Britton, who pitched 2 1/3 innings, his longest relief outing since April 16, 2014, to pick up the win
UPON FURTHER REVIEW
Burns was almost caught leaning off second when Marcus Semien scored on Brett Lawrie's sacrifice fly in the third. The O's recognized there was no play at the plate, so they tried to nab Burns at second, but he was called safe and the call was confirmed after replay.
WHAT'S NEXT
Orioles: Baltimore will enjoy an off-day on Thursday before going to Anaheim for a weekend set against the Angels. Right-hander Kevin Gausman will get the start opposite lefty Andrew Heaney in the 10:05 p.m. ET. matchup on Friday.
A's: Aaron Brooks takes the mound as the A's open a four-game set with the Astros on Thursday at 7:05 PT. Brooks shined in his first start with Oakland, yielding one earned run on five hits in 7 1/3 innings in a 5-1 win over the Indians on Saturday.
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