Laureano's Reprieve Helps Athletics Salvage an 8-4 Win Over Angels

There was thought that Ramón Laureano would not be available to the Athletics Wednesday. But when no final judgment on his suspension came down, he played, and his three defensive gems and a bases-loaded single helped the A's regain their winning ways.

Major League Baseball’s Commissioner’s Office may have cost the Angels a chance to beat the A’s Wednesday.

Oakland was expecting to get the results of Ramón Laureano’s appeal Wednesday morning of a six-game suspension for his part in Sunday’s brawl with the Astros in Oakland. Manager Bob Melvin made up two lineups, one hopeful that Laureano would be available and one assuming he would not.

Ultimately no decision came out of New York and Laureano, who knew his chances of playing were a coin flip, turned in three stellar defensive plays and broke open a close game with a bases-loaded single as the A’s salvaged the last of the three games in Anaheim with an 8-4 win over the Angels.

“I didn’t pay too much attention,” Laureano said. “I was ready to play since I woke up this morning.”

For all the attention that Laureano didn’t pay to his availability, Melvin overcompensated in the other direction.

“It was big for us,” Melvin said of the crickets coming out of the MLB offices in New York. “I don’t know what happened. I was waiting until the last minute.

“My guess is that (the suspension) will probably start the day after tomorrow (when the A’s open a series in San Francisco). But it was nice.”

Laureano took control of the game beginning in the sixth inning with a sliding catch of an inning-opening pop fly from Joe Adell. Leading off the seventh, he went to the top of the wall in center to steal what would have been a double from Tommy La Stella. Then he closed out the eighth inning by beating a hasty retreat to the wall in center, jump and snake his glove above the wall to deny a home run from Brian Goodwin.

“He’s energetic. He’s exciting. He’s a thrill-a-minute,” Melvin said of Laureano.

Talking specifically of the steal from Goodwin, the manager added “it was not an easy play, but he timed it very well.”

“He knows once he hits the warning track exactly how many steps he has to the wall, and he’s really confident doing it,” Melvin said. “I don’t want to say we’re used to it, but he’ done it enough that at times we expect it.”

Laureano decided this season to play a deeper center field. Doing so may have helped him get to both the La Stella and Goodwin blasts without denying him the ability to charge and catch pop flies like the one off Adell’s bat.

“It’s been huge,” Laureano said of the decision, made in conjunction with outfield coach Ryan Christensen, to play a deeper center field. “Ryno puts in little notes. They’ve been pretty accurate.”

The A’s, who got early homers from Matt Olson, Robbie Grossman and Stephen Piscotty in building an early lead, saw their own starter, Chris Bassitt, give up his first two homers of the season, solo blasts in the first from Mike Trout and in the sixth from Anthony Rendon.

Bassitt, who is now 2-0 with a 2.42 ERA, sounded as he’d give the win to Laureano, whose two-run single in the ninth capped Oakland’s scoring, the win if he could.

“He’s great; a Gold Glove center fielder,” Bassitt said. “He won us the game defensively. I know we scored a couple more runs, but he definitely saved us.”

The A’s get Thursday off, then jump across the bat Friday, Saturday and Sunday for three games against the Giants at Oracle Park.

When they do, they’ll likely have to play without Laureano. Given that Dodgers’ pitcher Joe Kelly’s eight-game suspension over throwing at the Houston Astros was trimmed Wednesday from eight games to five, it seems possible that Laureano’s could be trimmed to four games from six.

“I really don’t know (what will happen),” Melvin said. “I would take that. We’ll see where it goes. I’m not in charge of that.”

Follow Athletics insider John Hickey on Twitter: @JHickey3

Click the "follow" button in the top right corner to join the conversation on Inside the Athletics on SI. Access and comment on featured stories and start your own conversations and post external links on our community page.