OAKLAND — Only 4,118 fans scattered across the green seats of the Coliseum on a sunny Easter afternoon. What they saw was the A’s improbable rally for their first victory: a 4-3 triumph Sunday that prevented the Cleveland Guardians from sweeping the season-opening four-game series.
“It’s tough to win here, so after putting these three games behind us, we can come out here with a good taste in our mouth and get ready for Boston,” said A’s starter Paul Blackburn, who directed a perfect game in the fifth inning. and a shutout at seven.
Indeed, while the Red Sox (2-2) arrive in town for a three-game series, the A’s will not wallow in a winless start to a still very suspect season, which could end a residency of 57 here unless negotiations with Oakland officials keep them longer before a planned move to Las Vegas in 2028.
“Nobody wants to start 0-4,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “I was proud of the effort there and the fight back we showed after the eighth inning. It’s a good sign that this club isn’t folding or doesn’t have the energy to bounce back from what was a pretty lousy day, to turn things into a positive day.
Blackburn was intent on getting this win, coming out with a 3-0 lead after a 79-pitch start. The Guardians quickly scored three runs in the eighth against A’s relievers Lucas Erceg and Austin Adams, setting the stage for a nail-biter in the ninth inning.
Abraham Toro’s bases-loaded four-pitch walk brought in Darell Hernaiz for the winning run in the bottom of the ninth.
The A’s loaded the bases in the ninth, behind Ryan Noda’s walk and back-to-back singles from Shea Langeliers and Lawrence Butler. Darell Hernaiz, running for Noda, made a bad jump on Butler’s hit to center field, delaying the A’s go-ahead celebration. Eli Morgan came in for the Guardians and did not throw a hit to Toro, who watched a 90 mph fastball sail high to essentially end the 2 1/2 hour affair.
The season-opening series drew a total of 26,902 fans, not counting the thousands who remained in the Coliseum parking lot on Thursday’s opening night to protest the A’s planned move to Las Vegas by 2028.
The official attendance for that opening 8-0 loss was 13,522, about half the number for last year’s home debut, when 26,805 people saw the A’s beat the Angels and the eventual two-time MVP Shohei Ohtani. But the A’s team stumbled to a 3-16 start and lost 23 of 28 games.
“Once you get that first win over, you can relax, take the lead, have fun and go play some baseball,” catcher Shea Langeliers said.
Blackburn said he and Langeliers stuck to their game plan inning after inning, until Blackburn was pulled before the eighth. He allowed three hits and one walk in 88 pitches, with three strikeouts.
“You kind of have to realize that it’s still March. I wanted to go all nine (rounds) today, but overall it’s a marathon,” Blackburn said. “My throwing limit was 85-90 my first time out and that’s about where I landed.”
Josh Naylor who interrupted Blackburn’s perfect game in the fifth with a leadoff single to right field. Blackburn quickly found itself in a loaded jam after allowing an infield single to Ramon Laureano and a four-pitch walk to Estevan Florial. The shutout remained intact, however, when Blackburn got No. 9 hitter Gabriel Arias to fly out to shallow right field, where second baseman Zack Gelof battled against the sun to trap the third out.
In the seventh, former A’s star Ramón Laureano hit a two-out single, and with Lucas Erceg in the A’s bullpen, Blackburn got Bo Naylor to go to Gelof to end this threat.
Blackburn did not allow a base runner to go through four innings. His day opened with a 92.1 mph fastball for a called strike against Steven Kwan, who eventually lined out to right as the A’s earned their first Easter Day victory in 10 years. Blackburn’s dominance shouldn’t have been too surprising after going 4-0 in spring training. It ended with six hitless innings against the Chicago Cubs on March 20, then just two hits by the Giants in 5 2/3 innings last Tuesday.
Blackburn, 30, was the A’s All-Star representative in 2022, and the Heritage High-Brentwood product deserved a win Sunday that would have improved his career record to 17-24 as a starter.
Dany Jimenez entered the game to pitch the ninth for the A’s and immediately found trouble: Bo Naylor walked and Estevan Florial reached on an error by Gelof. Langeliers struck out Naylor at third base to slow the rally, and although Jimenez had an ensuing putout attempt to center field, the Guardians were unable to score a go-ahead run in the frame.
But in the tying eighth inning, Erceg allowed a triple to Florial, who scored on a groundout to spoil the A’s shutout. After Erceg allowed a two-out single to Andres Gimenez, Austin Adams came in and quickly threw his first pitch behind Jose Ramirez. The lead was cut to 3-2 when the Guardians scored on an error by shortstop Nick Allen, and Blackburn’s potential victory officially disappeared when Naylor’s single against Allen generated a tying run.
The A’s took a 2-0 lead in the first inning thanks to JJ Bleday’s RBI triple and Seth Brown’s single that scored Bleday. Esteury Ruiz scored the first run after leading off with an infield single and stealing second. This marks only the A’s second lead all season. Their first was short-lived, after taking a 3-2 lead in Saturday’s third inning, but the Guardians responded with three runs in the fourth inning to spark their 12-3 rout.
Sunday’s lead grew to 3-0 in the fourth period, as Ruiz tripled down the right field line and scored again on a Bleday hit, this time on a single to right.
“We need to add a lead to make things more comfortable,” Kotsay said, “but a win is a win.”
They will try next against the Red Sox. The first pitch on Monday is set for 6:40 p.m.
“Having the Red Sox come to town is always exciting,” Langeliers said. “But it’s the big leagues and, in my mind, I can’t wait to play anyone.”
REMARKS
The A’s claimed infielder Tyler Nevin off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles, while also designating pitcher Adrián Martínez for assignment. Martinez went 4-8 with a 5.51 ERA in 34 appearances (13 starts) over the previous two seasons.
Nevin, 26, is the eldest son of former major league player Phil Nevin. A first-round pick of the Colorado Rockies in 2015, he made his Major League debut in 2021 with the Orioles. Primarily a third baseman, he hit .203 in 266 career at-bats (five homers, 29 RBIs) between the Orioles (2021-22) and Detroit Tigers (2023). He appeared in 41 games for the Tigers last year while not splitting time at Triple-A Toledo (.326 batting average, 15 homers, 58 RBIs).
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