Pinder, fueled by text message, keys A's massive Game 3 win

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Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. For the A's, who were facing elimination Wednesday in their American League Division Series against the Houston Astros, utility man Chad Pinder became the man of the moment.

Trailing by three runs in the seventh inning and with their playoff hopes on life support, Marcus Semien roped a lead off single to left. He advanced to third on a Tommy La Stella single to right, giving the A’s men on the corners with no outs.

Pinder stepped to the plate and didn’t wait around. He went after a first pitch slider that, off the bat, looked more like a sac fly than a home run.

But the ball had been flying out of Dodgers Stadium the entire series and as right fielder Kyle Tucker faded back toward the fence, you could tell he was running out of room quickly.

The A’s dugout exploded as Pinder’s shot careened around the bleacher seats filled with cardboard cutouts of fans.

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“That was more like an earthquake than a shift,” manager Bob Melvin said of the moment. “Off the bat, the way it’s carrying today, you think maybe. But as soon as Tucker kept going back, you had a pretty good idea that it had a chance to go out.”

Pinder admitted following the A's 9-7 win that he wasn’t looking for a home run. With his team trailing by three runs, he was trying to get the ball deep enough into the outfield to drive in the runner home with a sacrifice fly.

“I didn’t know off the bat,” Pinder said following the A’s improbable come from behind victory. “I knew I hit it good enough for a sac fly, but it just kept going.”

Pinder credited Ramon Laureano for pumping up the team before A’s hitters went to the plate in the seventh. Oakland’s center fielder had Pinder so amped up, he needed to take a few breaths before stepping to the plate.

“When we got into the dugout the energy was down again, kinda get that same flat line feeling and Ramon was having no part of that, he was having absolutely no part of that,” Pinder said.

The game was still tied going to the eighth and the A’s had a little more magic in their bats. Robbie Grossman led off the inning with a walk and moved to third on a double down the right field line from Laureano.

Sean Murphy drove in a run with a sac fly, but the A’s weren’t done. Semien walked and La Stella was hit on the elbow by a pitch to load the bases. Once again, Pinder stepped to the plate with an opportunity to give his team an insurance run.

Pinder wasn’t as aggressive this time around, but the end result was another fly ball to right. Tucker came away with the catch, but it was deep enough to score Laureano from third and give Oakland a 9-7 lead.

If you had Chad Pinder as your difference maker in the office pool, you are the big winner. After a rough season where the 28-year-old batted just .232 and missed the end of the year with a hamstring injury, he was questionable to even make the playoff roster and now this is turning out to be a fairy tale.

Not only has Melvin used Pinder to replace injured Matt Chapman at the hot corner, but he’s inserted him into the three-hole in his line-up the last two games.

“I got a text this morning, ‘Third base, hitting third’ and that does give you confidence,” Pinder said. “It makes you like, 'Alright, everyone else believes in you, everybody knows what you can do.' And then once that first pitch starts, you’ve got to lock it in.”

RELATED: Pinder's clutch homer helps A's infield make playoff history

Pinder has responded by batting .444 over the first three games of the series with two home runs and five RBI. He’s played well in the field and he’s coming through in the clutch.

The A’s aren’t a team built around one single player. They are a deep squad and while Pinder has become a revelation on a huge stage, you get the feeling that his teammates aren’t all that surprised by his breakout series.

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