BY MICHAEL WAGAMAN
Associated Press
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Willy Adames homered and drew a pair of bases-loaded walks, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Athletics 6-2 on Sunday night.
Tyler Fitzgerald also hit a solo homer, and Rafael Devers and Wilmer Flores each had two hits to help back an uneven but effective outing by San Francisco starter Hayden Birdsong.
One night after setting a season high with four RBIs, Adames stayed hot at the plate to help the Giants take two of three from their former Bay Area rivals.
Adames walked to force in a run in the first inning, hit a solo home run off A’s starter Jacob Lopez leading off the fourth then walked again with the bases full in the fifth. It’s the first time that a Giants shortstop has had three RBIs in consecutive games since Rich Aurilia in 2000.
Tyler Soderstrom had two hits including his 15th home run for the A’s. It was his first home run in 26 games, and traveled 389 feet at 105.3 miles per hour. Per Statcast, it would have been a home run in all 30 major league parks.
Through 91 games, the Turlock native is batting .253 (83-for-328) with 49 RBIs. He has also drawn 37 walks. All are career-highs.
After cracking the top 15 vote-getters amongst outfielders in Phase 1 of All-Star voting, Soderstrom did not advance to the second round and was not named a reserve last week through the player vote or through the Commissioner’s Office.
Birdsong (4-3) pitched around traffic most of the evening and didn’t allow a run until Soderstrom’s solo home run leading off the fourth. He had six strikeouts and overcame control problems to win for the first time since June 1.
Spencer Bivens and All-Star reliever Randy Rodríguez each retired three batters. Camilo Doval allowed a run in the ninth before getting Jacob Wilson to ground out and complete the five-hitter. Lopez (2-5) allowed four runs and five hits in 4 1/3 innings.
The rest of the series
Adames had three hits and four RBIs to back a strong start by Logan Webb as the Giants beat the A’s 7-2 on Saturday night. Webb (8-6) gave up two runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings to move to 4-0 in five career starts against the Athletics.
Rodríguez got the final out in the seventh and Tyler Rogers and Bivens each pitched a scoreless inning to close it out as the Giants won for the third time in four games.
Luis Severino (2-10) walked Mike Yastrzemski to begin the game then hit Heliot Ramos with a pitch. One out later, he hit Matt Chapman to load the bases before Yastrzemski was forced out at home on Jung Hoo Lee’s grounder. Adames singled up the middle for a 2-0 lead.
Nick Kurtz led off the second against Webb with a double, moved to third on Shea Langeliers’ infield hit and scored on Soderstrom’s double-play grounder to get the Athletics on the scoreboard.
Kurtz added an RBI double in the sixth for the Athletics’ final run.
Severino allowed five runs and five hits in 4 1/3 innings and is still looking for his first win at home in his first season with the Athletics. He has given up 19 earned runs in his last four starts covering 18 innings.
In Friday’s series opener, JP Sears pitched six scoreless innings, Kurtz and Denzel Clarke hit home runs, and the Athletics cruised past the Giants 11-2.
All-Stars Jacob Wilson and Brent Rooker both drove in two of six early runs off Justin Verlander as the Athletics took a 6-0 lead after three innings.
Sears (7-7) allowed three hits and two walks, striking out six.
Rookie Jack Perkins gave up two runs — one earned — in three innings for his second save in his third appearance.
Verlander (0-6) was tagged for six runs on seven hits in three innings but fanned five. After Lawrence Butler singled in the first and scored on Rooker’s single, the Athletics used four doubles in the second to score four times.
Soderstrom and Max Muncy had two straight leading off for the first run. Wilson followed with a two-out, two-run double before scoring on a double by Rooker for a 5-0 lead. Zack Gelof — on the injured list since spring training — hit a sacrifice fly in the third.
The game was delayed in the middle of the sixth when home plate umpire Andy Fletcher left after taking an earlier foul tip off his mask. Tripp Gibson finished behind the plate.
Clarke tripled when play resumed and scored on Butler’s single. Two outs later, rookie Kurtz hit his 13th home run for a 9-0 lead. Clarke’s two-run shot in the seventh capped the A’s scoring.
Brett Wisely homered in the eighth and the Giants got an unearned run in the ninth.
The Giants’ 3.41 team ERA leads the NL while the Athletics’ 5.32 ERA is the worst in the AL.
After a day off Monday, the A’s began a three-game series at home against the Atlanta Braves. They entered the series with a 37-55 record, in last place in the AL West.
The Giants began a three-game series at Oracle Park on Monday against the Philadelphia Phillies. They entered Tuesday at 50-42, in second place and six games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.
Journal writer Christopher Correa contributed to this report.
