Marcus Semien started the underside of the 10th on second base beneath the brand new, unpopular rule and scored on Matt Olson‘s grand slam, sending the Oakland Athletics over the Los Angeles Angels 7-Three on Friday evening.
Olson, whose alert throw from first base nailed Angels free runner Shohei Ohtani in the highest of the 10th, linked with one out. The A’s gathered round house plate to greet him on opening evening.
“It definitely is interesting. There’s going to be more excitement,” Olson stated. “I think it would be a lot tougher to go to 17- or 18-inning games with a guy on second. You’d think at some point somebody’s probably going to get a knock.”
Major League Baseball instituted the controversial extra-inning runner rule for this season to maintain video games from dragging on amid a compressed, 60-game schedule that began following a months-long delay as a result of of the virus outbreak.
Ohtani, who’d struck out to finish the Angels ninth, wasn’t fairly prepared for it: The broadcast confirmed him in the dugout sporting a pullover when the sport went to extras. Caught off-guard, somebody reminded him he wanted to go to second and he rapidly acquired organized.
Ohtani tried to advance on Jared Walsh‘s leadoff grounder however was tagged out in a rundown.
“I feel like we’re just going to see some different stuff with that,” Olson stated.
After Semien took second in the underside of the 10th, the A’s loaded the bases in opposition to Hansel Robles (0-1) on a success by pitch, wild pitch and a stroll.
“Let’s see what we do,” former A’s pitcher Dave Stewart wrote on Twitter, then cracked, “I guess the bunt is not an option?”
Then: “We don’t need no stinking bunt.”
New Angels supervisor Joe Maddon introduced in reliever Hoby Milner and, with a five-man infield in place, Olson hit the primary pitch far over the right-field wall.
Maddon was requested how the extra-inning runner rule affected his technique in the 10th.
“It’s interesting for sure — it’s [like] a leadoff double in the 10th, so they got us tonight,” he stated. “Strategy-wise, we got to the five-man infield. We were ready to play that. Of course, the ball went over our heads. Nothing we could do about that. Everything that we had been working on, the guys were ready for tonight, and we really appreciate that.”
According to STATS, Olson turned the third participant to hit a walkoff grand slam on Opening Day. He joined Sixto Lezcano (1980 Brewers) and Jim Presley (1986, Mariners).
Burch Smith (1-0) pitched one inning for the win.
The sport went to the 10th tied at Three after Jason Castro‘s tying homer in the ninth in opposition to A’s nearer Liam Hendriks.
The Angels could not ship a win for Maddon in his managerial debut with the group. Maddon joined the Angels following 5 seasons guiding the Chicago Cubs.
“We’re basically playing one-third of a season so that’s like losing a three-game series. That’s what it feels like,” Angels starter Andrew Heaney stated.
Many of the Angels, together with Justin Upton and Brian Goodwin, took a knee for the nationwide anthem whereas A’s gamers Khris Davis and Tony Kemp raised a proper fist to the air.
Los Angeles opened the season in Oakland for the fourth straight 12 months.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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