A's do it again: Canha's 3-run HR in 9th beats Giants 7-6

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Sean Murphy started things off in the ninth inning with a home run and Mark Canha had one thought: “Here we go again!"

Down to his final strike, Canha became the latest Oakland slugger to deliver a dramatic late-game hit.

He hit a go-ahead, three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning and the AL-best Athletics rallied late for the second straight game, slugging past the San Francisco Giants 7-6 on Saturday night.

“Obviously trying to go deep, just hit a homer and let's win this game,” Canha said of his focus.

A night earlier, Oakland erased a 7-2 deficit to win 8-7 in 10 innings after Stephen Piscotty’s tying grand slam in the ninth. The A’s are 15-6 and have a three-game winning streak.

“These last two nights have been incredible,” pitcher Sean Manaea said. “You can’t really beat those kinds of wins. It’s been a lot of fun.”

Oakland is quickly making a habit of fabulous finishes much like last year — already with two walkoff grand slams.

Marcus Semien hit a two-run homer and Matt Olson also connected for the A’s, who won for the 12th time in 14 games.

“We have a deep lineup. I’ve said it often we can score anywhere one through nine,” manager Bob Melvin said. “When we get guys on base we have a good feeling. I don’t know how many times I’ve said this, our best at-bats come late in games.”

Darin Ruf put San Francisco ahead 6-3 with a three-run shot in the seventh before the bullpen squandered it again.

Trevor Gott (1-1) surrendered Murphy’s leadoff homer in the ninth that started the latest A's rally and a one-out double to Tony Kemp before walking Matt Olson, bringing up Canha.

T.J. McFarland (2-0) recorded the final out of the eighth for the victory before Liam Hendriks closed it out for the...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/A-s-do-it-again-Canha-s-3-run-HR-in-9th-beats-15487166.php