Even on days when the offense starts slowly, it never feels like the A’s are out of a game in the late innings, with their firepower up and down the series. As catcher Sean Murphy showed Sunday, only one shot is needed.
An A-offense that was stimulated most of the day by left-handed Tigers’ Matthew Boyd finally started by Murphy’s explosion on the board. His solo game that shot Boyd in eighth place – Murphy’s first of the year – sparked a late rally for the A’s, which was concluded in ninth place by Mitch Moreland. The veteran reached base with an error to bring Matt Olson home for a 3-2 runaway victory.
The victory gave Detroit a four-game lead and extended Oakland’s best winning streak in the American league to eight games.