Lawrence Butler collected the go-ahead hit in the ninth, doubled, stole a base and scored twice as the A’s came back to beat the Giants 9-6 on Thursday.
Butler was on the wrong side of what was the game’s biggest play through six; with the bases loaded and two outs, he came up a little short on a diving attempt at Jung Hoo Lee’s liner to right and had the ball get by him for a three-run triple. The Giants were up 6-2 at that point, but the A’s came back with two in the seventh. In the eighth, Butler doubled to the wall in center. It looked like Jonah Cox had it all of the way, but he missed it at the end. Butler then came around to score on a Jeff McNeil single. In the ninth, Butler had the third of four singles off Caleb Kilian, giving the A’s a 7-6 lead. Butler is batting .342 with two homers, four doubles and two steals in his last 13 games, raising his OPS from .489 to .585. He needs to stay hot to ensure that he keeps starting against righties after Brent Rooker returns, but things are finally looking up.
