Moreland describes how A's slow start upped team's chemistry

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That felt good, and you could tell by the smiles and Gatorade-soaked celebration at the end of the Athletics’ 4-3 win Wednesday over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

A’s first baseman Mitch Moreland hit a single in the bottom of the 10th inning to seal the deal in walk-off fashion. 

Despite the 0-6 start, the team's players never steered away from one another. That clubhouse chemistry never left. 

“We’ve talked a ton and believe it or not with the slow start, it made our chemistry even better, so everybody knew we were going to get on the board and win some games and it was going to get back to normal,” Moreland said after the game. 

During the spring, Moreland said teams having chemistry is a dying breed, but admitted he believes it’s imperative to a team’s success. 

The A's finally pulled together in a clutch situation on Wednesday.

“We couldn’t really think of a time in anybody’s career that we had kind of started like this,” Moreland said. “Really just stepping back and taking a deep breath, taking it one inning at a time, one pitch at a time and getting that win is big for us and I mean obviously we can continue to go for the rest of the year and win some ball games while we’re at it.”

Matt Chapman made things interesting in the bottom of the seventh, when he pulled the A's within one run after hitting a solo shot off Dodgers starter Trevor Bauer. Then the A's rallied in the ninth to tie the game against Kenley Jansen before Moreland delivered the walk-off.

“Obviously we’ve been needing that one, been kind of waiting on it -- a hard-fought game today,” Moreland said. 

The A’s will head to Houston to take on the Astros once again after leaving behind an "embarrassing" four-game series in which Oakland got swept at home.

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“Kind of take that one into the road trip, carry that momentum over, it was a good one to get,” Moreland said. "This team’s really good and I feel like when we get hot, we’re going to win a lot of games. I still think if you’re going to do this, you’re going to want to do it early and not late so get this out of the way and get back to playing ball like we can.”
 

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