SAN FRANCISCO—On Tuesday, July 21, the San Francisco Giants defeated the Oakland Athletics 4 to 2 at Oracle Park, completing the sweep of the two game exhibition series.
Mike Fiers started for the A’s, pitching into the fourth inning in his final tune-up before the season starts. He gave up three runs on three hits, two of them being solo homers by Giants outfielders Mike Yastrzemski and Alex Dickerson. Chris Bassitt, another projected member of the A’s starting rotation, pitched the final four innings. He recorded five strikeouts and only allowed one run.
In contrast, for the second straight game, the Giants brought in a new pitcher every inning starting with Tyler Rogers, one of the candidates to be the team’s closer this season. Throughout the two exhibition games, they used 18 pitchers in 18 innings. This strategy seemed to work as the A’s managed only four runs and six hits in the two exhibition games.
In Tuesday’s game, the A’s runs came via a two run triple by Chad Pinder in the second inning. Pinder’s blast appeared to clear the right field wall for a home-run; however, after a lengthy replay review, the umpires declared that the initial call of a triple stood. After that rally, the A’s offense went silent for the rest of the game, while the Giants took the lead for good thanks to a pair of sacrifice flies.
The Giants will begin their 2020 season in Los Angeles against their longtime archrival the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday, July 23. The A’s will open at home against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday, July 24.
