Pinder Gets Bad Call on Would-Be Homer, but he and Allen Enjoy Their Oracle Night
It was a good Tuesday for Chad Pinder and Austin Allen, if not so much for the A’s as a whole with Oakland dropping another exhibition game, 4-2 to the Giants in Oracle Park.
Pinder drove in the A’s only two runs with a triple in the second inning. It came following a bunt single by Matt Olson and after Khris Davis was hit by a pitch. It was the last hit the A’s would get as the Giants threw nine different pitchers at them, eight of them apparently unhittable.
The triple wasn’t the brightest moment for Pinder, actually. The ball he hit cleared the wall. It should have been a home run. A’s manager Bob Melvin challenged the call, and a review showed the ball hitting the railing above the bricks in center field. Instead of a homer, he was stranded on third after a triple.
“I couldn’t tell (if it was a homer), what with slipping at first base,” Pinder said with a laugh. “I couldn’t see where the ball went. Everybody said it was a home run. It’s all good. I mean, on Friday, I want that one.”
And he may get the chance come Friday.
The bright moment was Pinder being in the Tuesday lineup as the A’s starting second baseman. Melvin won’t tip his hand, but Pinder is likely to be the starting second baseman on opening night Friday with the Angels starting a left-hander, Andrew Heaney.
That would necessitate Oakland starting a right-handed hitting second baseman. The A’s other right-hander there, Franklin Barreto, didn’t start either of the two games against the Giants and on Tuesday he came into the game as a shortstop.
The second base job was the most hotly contested in the A’s camp this year. Oakland will break camp with four potential second baseman on the 30-man roster, adding lefties Tony Kemp and Vimael Machin to the mix. All four can play multiple positions.
Pinder said he’s spent most of his defensive work at second base this month, and he’s pleased where he is defensively.
“It’s gonna be an ongoing process,” he said. “I continue to take my ground balls and do my work. I think it’s definitely coming along.”
As for Allen, he started and went hitless in a couple of at-bats. The good news for him was that he’s made the 30-man roster. Melvin said the A’s will go with two catchers, right-hander Sean Murphy and Allen, a lefty. A third catcher, switch-hitting Jonah Heim, didn’t make the cut, but he won’t go far. He’ll be on the A’s three-man taxi squad, which will train with and travel with the team.
All three of the catchers are rookies.
“Allen will start with us; Heim will be our taxi guy,” Melvin said. “Either way it was going to be a good decision. Both guys impressed. You know, (Allen) has a little more experience, and there’s a little more power with Austin.
“He’s a little bit further on in his career, but Jonah is going to be a guy who’s going to be here. He’s a switch-hitter, a terrific defender, he never looks like he’s too overwhelmed by anything. It was a tough call.”
Follow Athletics insider John Hickey on Twitter: @JHickey3
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