Once again, Esteury Ruiz makes his presence known. The outfielder hit a two-run home run in the third inning, and the Athletics got a solid pitching performance from Paul Blackburn (W, 2-0) to grab a 6-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. With the win, they avoid getting swept in the series.
Oakland recorded ten hits on the afternoon, led by Tyler Nevin going 3-4. In fact, all but two starters for the A’s had at least one hit.
There was no scoring by both sides until the bottom of the third inning. Oakland’s Max Schuemann was walked on seven pitches, and Ruiz was the next batter up. On a 2-1 count, Cardinals’ starter Steven Matz (L, 1-1) received an 83 MPH changeup and crushed it.
Making it look Ruiz-y ☄️ pic.twitter.com/x45f4etXbc
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) April 17, 2024
St. Louis would respond with three runs in the top of the fourth against Blackburn. But, that’s all they could muster the rest of the way. RBIs from Shea Langeliers, Abraham Toro, and Darrell Hernaiz helped the A’s take back the lead 5-3. A single by Nevin in the bottom of the sixth brought in Ruiz for a six spot on the board, and that’s all the A’s needed for the win.
Oakland’s bullpen was shutdown material today. The quartet of T.J. McFarland, Austin Adams, Lucas Erceg, and Mason Miller pitched 3.1 innings of shutdown ball, and the A’s salvaged the series with the win.
Speaking of Miller (S, 4), he is in serious consideration to be one of the best closers in baseball. After a rough first appearance, the young pitcher has been lights out. He hasn’t allowed a run in five appearances, let alone a hit in the past three. His ERA now sits at 2.00 and looks to get even lower if he keeps this up.
Keep In Mind…
Also, don’t look now but Oakland’s pitching staff has an average ERA of 3.75, which is tenth-best in the league. If the offense (28th overall) can get things going, maybe we could see the A’s go on a run that no one saw coming.
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