In a thrilling conclusion to the Bay Bridge Series on Sunday, the San Francisco Giants secured a 4-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics in the 10th inning. Jerar Encarnación and Michael Conforto smashed back-to-back home runs to propel the Giants to their second win in seven games, with Heliot Ramos also contributing a homer.
Encarnación’s homer, off the first pitch from Dany Jiménez, broke the 1-1 tie and drove in Matt Chapman, the designated runner on second base. Conforto followed with a pinch-hit home run, much to the delight of the crowd of 32,727 at the Coliseum, many of whom were cheering for the Giants.
Despite Oakland scoring an unearned run in the bottom of the 10th and loading the bases with no outs, Giants closer Ryan Walker managed to strike out the next three batters, securing the win for San Francisco. Walker shared, “I feel more calm when (the bases are) juiced. Once that happened, I wasn’t worried. I just focused on making my pitches.”
Earlier in the game, a pitching duel unfolded between Giants’ Blake Snell and Athletics’ JP Sears. Snell, who threw a no-hitter nearly three weeks ago, delivered a solid performance with 10 strikeouts over seven innings. Sears, the effective starter for Oakland recently, also had a strong showing with nine strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings.
A highlight of the game was Ramos’ 18th home run of the season, a mammoth shot that traveled an estimated 448 feet. Despite the loss, A’s manager Mark Kotsay praised the excitement of the series’ finale, commenting, “Both of these games were exciting. It’s a fun way to (end) the Bay Bridge Series, even though we ended up losing.”
Looking ahead, the Giants’ Randy Rodríguez is being sidelined due to elbow inflammation, while the A’s’ Austin Adams was placed on the injured list with forearm tendinitis. The Giants will face the Chicago White Sox next, while the Athletics take on the Tampa Bay Rays in their upcoming matchups.
