Lawrence Butler hit a home run and Shea Langeliers drove in two runs as the Oakland Athletics defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 6-2 on Friday night.
Miguel Andujar and Brent Rooker also contributed RBIs for the A’s, who currently hold the fourth-fewest wins (36) in Major League Baseball and are in last place in the AL West.
“They can compete every night when they play solid, fundamental baseball,” remarked Oakland manager Mark Kotsay.
Despite having the most wins (61) and coming off a three-game sweep of the NL West-leading Dodgers where they outscored Los Angeles 19-5, the NL East-leading Phillies lost the opening game of a three-game series to Oakland, who are at the bottom of the standings.
“It just wasn’t our night,” said Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber. “We couldn’t get that key hit when we needed it.”
Ranger Suárez (10-4), one of seven Phillies selected as All-Stars, continued to struggle in recent outings, giving up four runs and six hits over six innings. Suárez had a stellar 1.83 ERA in his first 16 starts but has struggled with an 8.62 ERA in his last three games.
“I’m not executing my pitches well, and I’m not hitting my spots,” Suárez noted through a translator. “I’m trying too hard to be perfect out there.”
Osvaldo Bido (1-1) pitched three scoreless innings in relief to earn the win. “Credit to Bido for his performance,” Kotsay praised.
All of Oakland’s runs against Suárez came with two outs. In the third inning, consecutive RBI singles from Andujar, Rooker, and Langeliers gave the A’s a 3-1 lead.
“Our guys showed determination to grind out their at-bats,” Kotsay added.
Philadelphia scored one run in the bottom of the third on Edmundo Sosa’s RBI single, but Langeliers’ RBI single in the fifth inning extended Oakland’s lead to 4-2.
Butler’s pinch-hit, two-run home run off José Ruiz in the eighth inning increased the A’s lead to 6-2.
