A's help Giants; edge Dodgers 5-4 in 10
Oakland Athletics' Billy Butler, right, is mobbed by teammates after making the game -winning hit against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 10th inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2015, in Oakland, Calif. The A's won 5-4. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Mark Canha had reason to celebrate. He had a career night against one of the top pitchers in the game and scored the winning run.
Until Clayton Kershaw left the game, things weren't looking good for Oakland. Canha had two hits against the Cy Young Award winner and added two more against the Dodgers bullpen.
Billy Butler hit an RBI double in the 10th inning and the Athletics outlasted Kershaw to escape with a 5-4 victory over Los Angeles on Tuesday night.
Canha opened the 10th with a double off Yimi Garcia, his fourth hit of the game. Butler then lined the next pitch to right, and the throw from Scott Van Slyke sailed well wide of home plate, allowing Canha to score easily and end the A's season-high seven-game losing streak.
"He's going to have games where he's going to have four hits," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "Two hits off Clayton Kershaw — you'd probably lead with that."
Kershaw was not as crisp as he has been the past two months but still gave up one run over seven innings. He walked two, struck out seven and left with a 4-1 lead before the Dodgers' bullpen let it slip away.
Canha had a two-run double when Oakland scored three runs in the eighth off reliever Pedro Baez. Marcus Semien added a tying RBI single.
"I'll probably remember the whole thing in it's entirety," Canha said. "Probably one of my better games this year. It was awesome. I'll remember probably most how fun we were having in the dugout."
A.J. Ellis hit a three-run home run for Los Angeles, which had its three-game winning streak snapped.
The interleague matchup attracted a rare sellout crowd to the Oakland Coliseum, a large majority clad in Dodger blue. Several fights broke out and at least three people were ejected.
Kershaw, who had allowed only one run in two previous career starts against the A's, made a sparkling defensive play after Josh Reddick's RBI groundout in the second.
Eric Sogard hit a sharp bouncing ball up the middle but Kershaw spun and made a backward bare-handed, no-look catch then threw Sogard out.
"For a while there he was pretty efficient where he was going with his pitches," Melvin said. "It looked like he would be in there for a while."
Oakland starter Felix Doubront — making his first start since being acquired from Toronto on July 31 after the Blue Jays had designated him for assignment — pitched well despite six walks. Doubront allowed one hit over six innings, gave up an unearned run in the fifth and had a season-high eight strikeouts.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Dodgers: Yasiel Puig was pulled from the game with tightness in his right hamstring after reaching on an infield single in the eighth. . Mat Latos was scheduled to start Wednesday but will pitch out of the bullpen during the eight-game road trip instead. With two off days coming up, manager Don Mattingly made the switch in order to keep Kershaw and Zack Greinke on turn in the rotation. ... Ron Roenicke made his first appearance as the team's new third base coach.
Athletics: OF Coco Crisp, who has spent two stints on the disabled list this season with neck and elbow injuries, was rested. ... 3B Brett Lawrie (strained lat) was also held out of the starting lineup.
UP NEXT
Dodgers: LHP Alex Wood (8-7) has pitched into the seventh inning in two of his three starts since being acquired from the Atlanta Braves at the trade deadline. On the flip side, Wood has a 5.09 ERA over that same stretch.
Athletics: RHP Jesse Chavez (6-12) starts for Oakland and is tied for the American League lead in losses.