OAKLAND — With all attention on the trade status of Sonny Gray, the A’s put that distraction aside and showed a little grit over the weekend.
They walked off on the Twins for the second day in a row Sunday, registering their biggest comeback win of 2017 in the process.
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Down 5-0 at one point, they tied it with two runs in the eighth and won it with Yonder Alonso’s homer in the 12th for a 6-5 victory over Minnesota.
It’s very possible that Sunday’s game is Gray’s final one in an A’s uniform. The New York Yankees are the leading candidate to trade for the coveted right-hander before Monday’s 1 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline. They’ve been engaged in dialogue, but there was no indication of a deal nearing completion by game’s end.
The A’s erased a three-run deficit and won on Rajai Davis’ walk-off homer Saturday night, tying for their biggest comeback win of the season. They outdid that effort Sunday and took the final two of this three-game series.
Alonso jumped on the first pitch from Tyler Duffey with one out in the 12th and drilled his 22nd homer over the wall in right. That snapped a 14-game homeless streak for the A’s All-Star first baseman, who reportedly also is on the Yankees’ radar. A trade that sends both Gray and Alonso to New York is not out of the question.
Oakland Athletics
The A’s nine walk-off wins lead the American League.
Oakland trailed 5-3 in the eighth when Matt Chapman’s two-run double tied the game. The rookie third baseman also turned on a terrific catch of a foul pop up near the A’s dugout, hurdling two water buckets and landing in the dugout after making the grab.
Jharel Cotton, activate from the DL and making his first big league start since July 3, lasted just 3 2/3 innings and gave up five runs, with two homers and five walks allowed.