OAKLAND — Bob Melvin’s 1,000th career managerial victory turned out to be worth the wait.
Rajai Davis delivered a two-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth off Taylor Rogers to give the A’s a 5-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins at the Coliseum. Davis rounded first with his arm raised in celebration, similar to his trot around the bases during last fall’s dramatic Game 7 World Series homer that he hit as a member of the Cleveland Indians.
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The A’s had dropped five in a row since Melvin pocketed win No. 999 on Sunday. He became the 64th skipper in major league history to reach 1,000 wins, and the ninth active one.
Adam Rosales drew a pinch-hit walk in the ninth to put the tying run on base before Davis connected for his fourth homer of the season, which sailed over the wall in left-center and gave a fireworks night crowd a jolt.
Melvin usually deflects credit and attention when it’s directed at him, but in a recent sit-down interview, he admitted that reaching 1,000 wins would be special.
“Did I think I would ever have a chance to get 1,000? Probably not …” he told NBC Sports California’s Brodie Brazil. “I’m not really big on numbers, but 1,000 may be one where I stick that ball in my back pocket if it does come and kind of think about that a little more so, because that’s a lot of wins.”
