BOX SCORE
OAKLAND -- After falling behind 4-3 in the top of the twelfth inning, the As notched their first walk-off win of the season on back-to-back hit batsmen in the bottom of the frame to beat the Royals 5-4 and take the three-game series.After four straight scoreless innings, the Royals broke through against As relievers Jordan Norberto and Andrew Carignan to score the go-ahead run. Norberto gave up a two-out single to Eric Hosmer, leading As manager Bob Melvin to call on Carignan to face Billy Butler with two outs. Butler sent Carignans 1-1 fast ball to the wall in left field and Hosmer barely beat out the relay throw to put the Royals in front.Kansas City closer Jonathan Broxton started off the bottom of the twelfth by striking out Daric Barton, although the As first baseman threw his bat expecting a ball four call while home plate umpire Jim Reynolds rung him up.After pinch-hitter Seth Smith reached on an error, Jemile Weeks and Eric Sogard walked to load the bases for Coco Crisp, who grounded out to second base to plate the tying run. Broxton then hit Yoenis Cespedes to load the bases again and ended the game with another off-target pitch that drilled designated hitter Jonny Gomes for the first walk-off hit-by-pitch win for the As since 2002.Starting pitching report: Brandon McCarthy was sharp over his six innings of work and was in line for the win until Alex Gordons seventh inning home run. McCarthy was perfect after two innings, but allowed a run each in the third and fourth innings. Gordon singled in Brayan Pena in the third and Billy Butlers solo home run in the fourth temporarily gave Kansas City a 2-1 lead. But McCarthy settled down and threw two more scoreless innings before departing with two earned runs on six hits and two walks in six innings. He walked two, struck out four, and threw 102 pitches, 67 for strikes.Bullpen report: Brian Fuentes, who manager Bob Melvin said would likely be his closer of choice for save situations that Grant Balfour is unavailable for, came into the game in relief of McCarthy and promptly gave up a home run to Gordon to tie the game. The home crowd booed Fuentes as he came off the mound after his 23 innings of work.Right-hander Ryan Cook came in to relieve Fuentes and tossed 1 13 perfect innings before giving way to Grant Balfour, who turned in a 1-2-3 ninth.Balfour came back out for the tenth inning and worked around a leadoff single and two-out walk to complete two scoreless innings, needing 31 pitches.Jordan Norberto contributed with a perfect eleventh inning, which included two infield pop outs and a strikeout, then got the first two outs of the twelfth but was pulled after giving up a single to Eric Hosmer. Melvin called on right-hander Andrew Carignan next and he gave up a run-scoring double to Butler that ended up being the game-winner.At the plate: Jonny Gomes hit a towering drive that just cleared the wall above the out of town scoreboard in left field that temporarily gave the As a 3-2 lead in the fourth inning. Gomes also struck out looking twice.Cespedes two hits in his four at-bats were both jam shots. His base hit in the second inning found no-mans land in shallow right field. It became a double when the ball took a tricky bounce that got past Royals right fielder Jeff Francoeur. And Cespedes led off the 11th inning with a bloop single that fell just short of Royals center fielder Jason Bourgeois.The only other Athletic with a multi-hit game was Daric Barton, activated from the disabled list before Tuesdays game.Cliff Pennington, Eric Sogard, Josh Reddick, Kurt Suzuki, Josh Donaldson and Colin Cowgill combined for 23 hitless at-bats and the As struck out a total of 11 times against Royals pitchers.In the field: Jemile Weeks was charged with his first error of the season on Alcides Escobars pop up in the seventh inning. Other than that, the As turned in a solid, but unspectacular, defense effortthroughout the extra innings game.While Weeks had his own defensive miscue, his lone hit came on a blooper reel-type play that the Royals Eric Hosmer and Chris Getz combined on. On a pop fly behind first base, Hosmer ranged back and watched the ball pop out of the web of his glove. However, the ball was hanging right in front of his face and looked like it would stay off the ground, until Getz ran into Hosmer, allowing the ball to fall and Weeks to advance to second base.On the bases: Yoenis Cespedes attempted his first stolen base of the season and not only was it successful, but it also led to the As taking a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the second inning, Cespedes took off for third base after reaching on a leadoff double. Royals catcher Brayan Penas throw sailed into left field as Cespedes slid into the bag, allowing the 26-year-old Cuban defector to pop up and jog home to put the As on the board first.Jonny Gomes also stole his first base of the season. The Petaluma native may have had some added incentive on his theft, as he was greeted with a brushback pitch from Royals reliever Kelvin Herrera two innings after hitting a go-ahead home run.Injury report: Pennington left the game in the top of the seventh inning with a left leg injury and was replaced by Sogard. Reddick was hit by a pitch in the shoulder and had it ricochet off his jaw and had to leave the game while Coco Crisp replaced him as a pinch-runner. Attendance: The As announced the paid attendance was 12,390, and while the crowd was certainly larger than the one that braved the rain Tuesday night, it was predictably sparse due to the early start.Up next: After a day off Thursday, the As will start a three-game series Friday with the Seattle Mariners, who they have already played four times on the young season. As hitters get the unenviable task of facing Mariners ace Felix Hernandez (1-0, 4.40 ERA) for the third time this season as he will oppose Bartolo Colon (1-1, 5.84 ERA) in Seattles home opener.
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