A's Earn First Home Win in Slugfest with San Diego Padres

Coming into Tuesday's game, there were two stats that the Athletics were looking to change. The first, is that they had yet to hold a lead in any of their four home games to begin the year. Because of that stat, they were also 0-4 at Sutter Health Park. Both of those streaks ended in the A's 10-4 win over the San Diego Padres.

The Padres jumped on left-hander Jeffrey Springs early in this one. After getting the first two outs, Manny Machado clubbed his first home run of the season to give the Padres an early 1-0 lead. It was the fourth time in five home games that the A's had fallen behind before grabbing their bats.

After the homer, Xander Bogaerts singled, Yuli Gurriel doubled to bring him home, and Jake Cronenworth walked. With runners at first and second, Jose Iglesias grounded to third, where Gio Urshela sent a throw to first that was a bit high, causing Tyler Soderstrom to leap in the air to haul it in.

While in the air, Iglesias collided with Soderstrom's calf, causingthe A's first baseman to fall to the ground in pain. As he tried to regain his feet with the ball in his glove, Gurriel came around to score a third run for the Padres.

San Diego would enter the bottom of the first with a 3-0 lead, which is a familiar script for the A's previous four home losses.

Tuesday night was different for the home team, however, with Lawrence Butler singling to lead off the home half, and with one away, Soderstrom drew a walk. With two down, the A's bats went to work. JJ Bleday doubled to score a pair, followed by an RBI single from Miguel Andujar, and a single from Jacob Wilson to put runners at first and second.

Gio Urshela, atoning for his throw just minutes earlier, doubled down the line in left, scoring both runners and giving the A's their first lead at Sutter Health Park. Rookie second baseman Max Muncy followed that with a single to left of his own, scoring Urshela and giving the A's a 6-3 lead after one.

The Padres would answer back in the top of the second, scoring one on a fielder's choice groundout, but after they'd loaded the bases, Springs getting out of the jam he'd created with just one run allowed and zero outs recorded was a huge feat, and a big boost of momentum for the green and gold.

Springs would finish his outing with six innings of work, seven hits and two walks allowed which led to four runs (three earned). The left-hander also struck out four. After needing 33 pitches to get through the first inning alone, to get six out of Springs was huge.

In the third, the A's would pad their lead with a run-scoring hit from Jacob Wilson to left that would have loaded the bases, but a bobble by replacement left fielder Oscar Gonzalez allowed both Bleday and Andujar to score. Urshela followed that up with another RBI double, scoring Wilson.

Dylan Cease, who started for the Padres, would give up nine runs on nine hits and three walks in his four innings of work. The nine runs allowed are a career high for Cease.

The difference in this game for the A's was the production from their five through nine hitters. They ended up going 11-for-19 in this one, driving in all of the A's runs, Only Butler, hitting first, and Soderstrom, batting third, recorded single runs.

Wilson, who went 3-for-4 on the night with a double and a pair of singles, ended the evening bating .400 through the first 12 games of his first big-league season. Dating back to last season, he now has a 13-game hit streak.

Bleday would add a home run to his ledger in the bottom of the seventh, his first of the season. That long ball kept the A's streak of 12 straight games with a home run to begin the season intact, making it a new franchise record.

Soderstrom was removed from the game in the bottom of the eighth with right calf tightness.

Justin Sterner came on to work a scoreless eighth, continuing his streak of six scoreless outings to begin the season. The 28-year-old righty also didn't allow an earned run during camp, spanning 12 innings.