Athletics first baseman Matt Olson. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports)
Athletics first baseman Matt Olson was the hero as the Athletics walked off the Padres after a thrilling comeback to force extra innings.
The Athletics looked well on the way to a second loss to the Padres on Wednesday when they flipped the switch and pulled off a comeback.
Matt Olson delivered the critical runs in the bottom of the 10th inning with a double into deep right field. Mark Canha and Starling Marte made it home to give Oakland the win.
Here’s what it looked like when Olson notched his fifth career walk-off.
Matt Olson drove the Athletics to a walk-off victory over the Padres
The game featured multiple emotional swings. Jed Lowrie homered in the second inning to give Oakland an early lead. However, San Diego took control with three runs in the third and fourth innings.
Facing a 3-1 deficit in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, the A’s rallied. Matt Chapman drove in Ramon Laureano with an infield single, then pinch hitter Yan Gomes singled to center to bring home Matt Kemp, tying the game.
Oakland’s luck seemed to have run out in the top of the 10th when Tommy Pham brought Ha-Seong Kim in on a fielder’s choice, giving the Padres a one-run advantage and setting up a must-score scenario for the A’s in the bottom of the 10th.
This time, the Athletics didn’t mess around with two-out dramatics. Olson came to the plate with the tying run on third and the winning run on first. His double did the trick.
Oakland improved to 61-48 by splitting the series with the Padres. Next up, they take on the Rangers as they look to close the five-game gap to the Astros at the top of the AL West.