The Athletics couldn’t help but have an us-against-the-world mentality Sunday in Minnesota.
Two key replay calls went against the A’s and they faced an early three-run deficit. But they clawed back in a topsy-turvy affair to take a two-run lead -- before Jake Diekman surrendered a game-tying two-run homer in the eighth. A day after the Twins used some late magic to earn a tough one-run win, the A’s didn’t fold.
Oakland went on to score in the top of the ninth and claim a 7-6 win over the Minnesota Twins. A’s starter Chris Bassitt had to shake his head -- and bite his tongue -- when trying to explain the gutsy victory.
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“If you’re looking at a single game, like, what are the Oakland A’s and what are they made out of, this was the game,” Bassitt told reporters in his postgame press conference. “I’m usually a man of a lot of words and right now I just don’t know what the hell to say without angering people. I don’t know how we won. I have no idea.”
While Bassitt might have minced his words a bit, the same can’t be said about Matt Chapman.
The A’s star third baseman told Jim Kozimor and Bip Roberts on “A’s Postgame Live” that he felt like MLB replay officials had a vendetta against his team. Chapman was called out at second base on a controversial call in the second inning, when Twins shortstop Andrelton Simmons was credited with applying the tag.
“I felt like Simmons tagged himself, not me,” Chapman said. “But I feel like the review people in New York don't like the A's very much, we get no calls. I think that’s out of our control.”
An inning later, Ramon Laureano became livid in the dugout once replay officials deemed Jorge Polanco scored on a stellar effort by the A’s outfielder, who caught the ball and delivered a laser-like throw home on a close play.
According to the Bay Area News Group's Shayna Rubin, A's manager Bob Melvin has been successful on just 14.3 percent of his replay challenges this year, well below his career average of 49 percent.
The A’s scored five unanswered runs but Diekman gave up a crucial eighth-inning homer for the second straight day.
RELATED: Chapman has high praise for Bassitt
In a weird game that deserved a weird ending, Laureano scored the game-winning run in the ninth on a Chapman strikeout.
“I do not know how we survived it,” Bassitt said. “I don’t. … Every single thing went against us and I think every single thing was wrong. And we still won.”
At 25-17, no team in baseball has won more games than the A’s, who improved their record in one-run contests to 10-4.