A's beat Phillies, maintain AL wild-card lead on Donaldson walk-off HR

By foxsports
Published

 

Oakland needed a big hit in the 10th inning against Philadelphia. Fortunately for the Athletics, they had Josh Donaldson at the plate.

Donaldson hit a two-run homer to lift the A's to an 8-6 victory over the Phillies on Sunday.

''Those are the moments I always want to be in,'' Donaldson said after his third game-ending homer of the year, matching, among others, Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson for the franchise mark in a season.

Nate Freiman singled with one out against Miguel Gonzalez (0-1) before Donaldson hit a towering drive into the left-field bleachers for his 28th homer.

''He's a tough customer in big at-bats,'' A's manager Bob Melvin said. ''He embraces it.''

Sean Doolittle (2-4) pitched two innings for the victory, striking out four. It was the closer's longest outing since he recorded four outs at Seattle on July 13.

Geovany Soto drove in three runs for the A's, who have won two of three to remain atop the American League wild-card race.

Marlon Byrd drove in three runs for the Phillies, who have lost six of eight.

A's starter Scott Kazmir was charged with six runs and 11 hits in 5-1/3 innings. Since Aug. 3, Kazmir has an ERA of 6.67. It was at 2.37 through July.

A.J. Burnett lasted only 4-1/3 innings for Philadelphia. He walked six and allowed six runs and three hits.

Burnett also struck out three, moving him past Charlie Hough for 43rd on the career list with 2,363. Sandy Koufax is next at 2,396.

''I didn't get anything done today, man. It's very frustrating,'' Burnett said. ''I didn't make any pitches from the get-go. It's embarrassing.''

Byrd drove in Philadelphia's first three runs, one in the first and two in the second, each with a double. Freddy Galvis, Carlos Ruiz and Ben Revere also drove in runs for the Phillies.

Soto recorded his first three-RBI game since July 30 of last year, walking with the bases loaded in the third and doubling home two runs in the fifth. Josh Reddick, Brandon Moss and Adam Dunn also drove in runs for the A's.