Orioles fall to Athletics 8-4 in doubleheader opener
BALTIMORE (AP) - It was one of those days when everything went wrong for Mike Wright.
Wright allowed 10 hits, many of them opposite-field singles against the shift, and the Baltimore Orioles lost to Oakland 8-4 Saturday in the opener of a split doubleheader.
Wright's line wasn't good: 5-plus innings, 10 hits, five runs. But his performance was far better than the numbers would indicate.
"I don't know if I've been involved in a game with more tough luck by the pitcher," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said.
Asked if the A's were consciously trying to break the shift, Showalter replied, "I thought they were trying to pull it and it just went off the end of the bat. It wasn't intentional, I'll tell you that."
Wright (1-3) is winless in his last four starts, but the rookie probably deserved a better fate in this one.
"That's part of the game. They did a good job getting the bat on the ball," he said.
Marcus Semien homered and drove in three runs for the A's, who snapped a four-game losing streak.
Jed Lowrie had three hits and two RBIs for Oakland. The A's finished with a season-high 15 hits to become the last team in the majors to win in May.
The day-night doubleheader was scheduled after rain washed out the first game of the series Friday night. It was the A's first doubleheader in exactly two years.
Rich Hill (4-3) allowed two hits and a run over 5 2/3 innings. Relying heavily on a sweeping curveball, the left-hander struck out five and permitted only one runner past first base over the first five innings.
Hill is 4-0 with a 1.09 ERA on the road. This was the first game this season in which he allowed an earned run after the third inning.
Manny Machado had two hits for the Orioles, who scored only one run over a 27-inning span before getting on the board in the sixth.
Semien put Oakland up with an RBI single in the second inning. Stephen Vogt hit a sacrifice fly in the third, Josh Reddick doubled in a run in the fifth and Lowrie hit a two-run double in the sixth.
Hill exited in the sixth after hitting a batter, giving up a run-scoring grounder to Adam Jones and issuing his third walk.
Semien, the No. 9 batter in the order, made it 8-1 in the eighth with his team-leading eighth home run.
"I just want to continue to get hits when they count, because those are the ones that help us win," Semien said. "If you put together good at-bats, the average will always rise. But the power has been there."
ROSTER MOVES
Athletics: Danny Valencia, recalled from disabled list on Friday, started at third base. He went 1 for 5 with a throwing error.
Orioles: Baltimore selected the contract of INF Paul Janish from Triple-A Norfolk and optioned LHP T.J. McFarland to the same minor league club. Janish started at SS. McFarland was activated to be the 26th player in the second game.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Athletics: OF Coco Crisp returned to the lineup after being sidelined since Tuesday with a heel injury.
Orioles: DH Jimmy Paredes (left wrist sprain) started the day 5 for 26 at Double-A Bowie. His rehabilitation stint ends May 15.
UP NEXT
Athletics: Jesse Hahn (1-0, 0.00 ERA) was slated to start in Game 2.
Orioles: Ubaldo Jimenez (1-3, 5.20) was set to pitch in the nightcap.