Athletics 8, Phillies 6 (10)

[September 22, 2014]  Athletics 8, Phillies 6 (10): Josh Donaldson ripped a walk-off, two-run homer as host Oakland outlasted Philadelphia in the rubber match of a three-game series.

Nate Freiman singled in front of Donaldson, who blasted a 1-0 fastball from Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez (0-1) out to straightaway center for his 28th home run and the Athletics™ 10th walk-off win. Geovany Soto drove in three runs and Sean Doolittle (2-4) picked up the win with two perfect innings of relief as Oakland stayed atop the American League wild-card race, two games ahead of third-place Seattle.

Marlon Byrd drove in three runs and Freddy Galvis had an RBI triple for the Phillies, who battled back to forge a tie after starter A.J. Burnett was knocked around for six runs on three hits and six walks in 4 1/3 innings. Brandon Moss and Adam Dunn each drove in a run and scored for the Athletics.
 

Byrd™s RBI double in the first gave Philadelphia a quick lead before Oakland rallied for three in the bottom of the frame on Dunn™s RBI single, Moss™ run-scoring double off left fielder Grady Sizemore™s glove and Josh Reddick™s sacrifice fly. Byrd™s second double plated a pair in the third to knot it up.

Carlos Ruiz™s RBI double tied it up again at 4 in the fourth before Soto put the Athletics on top with a two-run double to right-center in the fifth. Oakland starter Scott Kazmir gave the lead right back in the next half-inning, surrendering Galvis™ RBI triple off the wall in left before Ben Revere™s run-scoring single ended the left-hander™s afternoon with six earned runs on 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Athletics SS Jed Lowrie left the game in the fifth with a left foot contusion. ¦ Phillies LF Domonic Brown (wrist) did not start for the third straight game but appeared as a pinch hitter. ¦ Oakland hosts the Los Angeles Angels in the start of a crucial three-game series Monday while Philadelphia gets the day off before continuing its road trip at Miami on Tuesday.

[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.