OAKLAND, Calif.—Jerar Encarnación and Michael Conforto hit back-to-back home runs in the top of the 10th inning Sunday, lifting the San Francisco Giants to a 4–2 win over the Oakland Athletics in the finale of the Bay Bridge Series.
Heliot Ramos went deep earlier to help the struggling Giants to just their second victory in the past seven games.
Encarnación lined the first pitch he saw from Dany Jiménez (1–3) over the fence in right-center field to snap a 1–1 tie. Matt Chapman, the automatic runner at second base, also scored.
Conforto followed with a pinch-hit drive as a crowd of 32,727 at the Coliseum—many of them wearing Giants colors—roared in approval.
“Don’t you expect a game like this to end this place and the series between the Giants and the A’s?” asked Giants Manager Bob Melvin, who managed the A’s from 2011–21. “It almost had to happen like that. We were trying to manufacture a run however we could. Didn’t look good for a while, but then a couple big swings that we’ve been missing ended up winning the game for us. And they didn’t go quietly.”
Oakland scored an unearned run in the bottom of the 10th and had the bases loaded with no outs. Ryan Walker (8–3), recently elevated to the closer role for the Giants, struck out the next three batters, including Shea Langeliers to end it.
“I feel more calm when [the bases are] juiced,” Walker said. “Once that happened, I wasn’t worried. I just focused on making my pitches.”
When the game was over, Giants third baseman Chapman asked for and received one of the bases used at third. Chapman spent his first five seasons in the majors playing for the A’s at the Coliseum.
“That was pretty cool,” Chapman said as he walked through the clubhouse.
The A’s are scheduled to play the next three years in Sacramento before a planned move to Las Vegas for the 2028 season.
The abrupt ending followed a pitching duel between San Francisco ace Blake Snell and fellow left-hander JP Sears of Oakland.
Nearly three weeks after throwing his first career no-hitter, Snell was dominant in his first start against the A’s since 2021. He allowed one run on six hits, to go with 10 strikeouts, in seven innings. It was the fourth time in Snell’s past five starts that he reached double digits in strikeouts.
“I’m pitching the ball good, locating the fastball,” said Snell, who has a 1.03 earned-run average over his past eight starts. “Everything’s starting to come together.”
Sears, the most effective A’s starter over the past six weeks, had nine strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings. He yielded one run on seven hits.
Encarnación and Tyler Fitzgerald each had two hits for the Giants, who were shut out by Oakland 2–0 on Saturday.
“It was a great two days,” A’s Manager Mark Kotsay said. “Both of these games were exciting. It’s a fun way to [end] the Bay Bridge Series, even though we ended up losing.”
Ramos hit his 18th home run leading off the seventh against Sears. The drive traveled an estimated 448 feet and had an exit velocity of 110.5 mph.
The A’s scored their lone run off Snell in the sixth.
Daz Cameron and Brent Rooker singled with one out. Cameron scored on Miguel Andujar’s two-out single just before right fielder Mike Yastrzemski threw out JJ Bleday at third.
![Giants third baseman Matt Chapman tags out A's baserunner JJ Bleday to end the sixth inning in Oakland, Calif., on Aug. 18, 2024. (Eakin Howard/AP Photo)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F08%2F19%2Fid5707935-Matt-Chapman-600x400.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
Trainer’s Room
Giants: Right-hander Randy Rodríguez (elbow inflammation) is being shut down for a few weeks, but Melvin is hopeful the reliever will pitch again this season.Up Next
Giants: Rookie left-hander Kyle Harrison (6–5, 4.14) is set to start Monday’s series opener against the visiting Chicago White Sox.Athletics: Right-hander Joe Boyle (2–5, 7.39) is scheduled to face the visiting Tampa Bay Rays on Monday. Boyle has 35 strikeouts in 31 2/3 innings this season.