WEST SACRAMENTO – Entering the night on a season-high losing streak coupled with the loss of a starting pitcher to injury for the second time this week, the Athletics desperately needed someone to step up and get things back on track.
J.T. Ginn answered the call, allowing just one unearned run across six innings. That start, along with the slugging trio of Shea Langeliers, Tyler Soderstrom and Nick Kurtz each homering to provide the majority of the offense, was enough for the A’s to snap a four-game losing skid with a 6-4 victory over the Yankees on Saturday at Sutter Health Park.
The A’s began the ninth with a 6-1 lead, but the Yankees plated three runs thanks to five walks before Scott Barlow retired Jazz Chisholm Jr. on a groundout to Kurtz at first base to escape with the win.
On a day that began with the A’s learning that their ace Luis Severino will be out for some time with a right shoulder strain, Ginn showed why the A’s believe in his potential as a frontline starter by limiting the Yankees to four hits and three walks with four strikeouts. The only run New York scored off him was a result of back-to-back errors by the A’s defense in the fourth.
Ginn’s run of success is stretching beyond just a small sample size. Since moving from the bullpen into the rotation on April 10, the 27-year-old righty holds a 2.56 ERA in 10 starts, and the A’s are 7-3 in those games.