Giants 14, A's 10
OAKLAND, Calif. -- What started as a nostalgic pitching matchup between Oakland left-hander Barry Zito and San Francisco right-hander Tim Hudson turned into a slugfest Saturday afternoon at O.co Coliseum as rookie left fielder Jarrett Parker hit three home runs, including a grand slam, to power the Giants to a 14-10 victory.
The defending World Series champion Giants pulled within 7 1/2 games of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West and kept their slim playoff hopes alive.
Parker hit a solo shot in the second inning off Zito, a two-run blast in the seventh off left-hander Drew Pomeranz and a grand slam in the eighth off right-hander Ryan Dull, giving him six home runs for the season, all since being recalled Sept. 11 from Triple-A Sacramento.
Parker's slam capped a five-run eighth inning and put the Giants ahead 14-10.
The Giants had pulled even at 10 when rookie second baseman Kelby Tomlinson hit a leadoff single, moved to second on first baseman Buster Posey's double to right that got past a diving Josh Reddick and scored on right fielder Marlon Byrd's sacrifice fly.
Parker, who hid a monstrous home run off Dull on Friday night, went 3-for-5 and drove in seven runs.
Designated hitter Billy Butler hit his 15th home run of the season for Oakland, a two-run shot in the sixth. Shortstop Eric Sogard went 1-for-3 with a double, drove in three runs and scored twice. Third baseman Danny Valencia had three hits and scored twice.
Tomlinson had four hits and scored three runs for the Giants, who totaled 19 hits. Catcher Trevor Brown had three hits. Posey, Byrd and center fielder Angel Pagan each had two hits.
Neither Zito nor Hudson, who are former A's teammates, figured in the decision.
The 40-year-old Hudson lasted only 1 1/3 innings, his shortest outing of the season and possibly the final start of his career. He gave up three runs (two earned) and one hit, walked three, struck out none and hit two batters.
Hudson exited with one out and the bases still loaded in the second after giving up three runs and falling behind 2-0 in the count to Reddick.
Hudson came off the field to a standing ovation and then received an even louder and longer standing ovation between innings when he made a curtain call, patting his heart as fans chanted "Huddy! Huddy! Huddy!"
Zito, who was recalled Sept. 16 from Triple-A Nashville, gave up four runs and six hits in two innings in what was likely the final start of his career. He left to a standing ovation after walking Posey to lead off the third.
Zito, who played seven seasons for the Giants, made his curtain call between innings to another standing ovation from fans of both teams.
The Giants struck for two runs in the top of the first against Zito. Tomlinson and third baseman Matt Duffy hit back-to-back singles with one out, and Byrd brought them home with a two-out double high off the right-center field wall.
The Giants made it 4-0 in the second. Parker sent Zito's 2-2 pitch over the left-center field fence for a solo shot with one out. Pagan roped a two-out double to left center and scored on Tomlinson's sharp single to center.
Oakland answered with three runs in the bottom of the second without the benefit of a hit. Hudson walked three batters and hit two, and Duffy committed an error. Hudson forced in two runs with bases-loaded walks and a third when he hit first baseman Mark Canha with the bases jammed.
The A's scored five times in the third, sending 11 batters to the plate and building an 8-4 lead.
NOTES: A's rookie C Carson Blair will have season-ending surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, manager Bob Melvin said. Blair had pain and swelling in his knee Thursday and had an MRI exam on Friday, which revealed the damage. ... During their pregame work, Giants players, coaches and manager Bruce Bochy wore No. 17 shirts with Tim Hudson's name on the back, honoring the right-hander before his start against A's left-hander Barry Zito. "He's so popular with this club," Bochy said of Hudson. "Guys are having fun with it today. It's in honor of Huddy and his career and his time spent with us." ... A's RHP Sonny Gray said his left hip was sore Saturday, the day after his start against San Francisco. The A's have not yet decided whether Gray will make his final scheduled start of the season. ... Former A's pitcher Mark Mulder, once part of the team's "Big Three" along with Zito and Hudson, attended the game and will take part in a pregame ceremony Sunday when all three will be honored. "A lot of those years we were so young and kind of immature, but we knew we were good," said Mulder, a baseball analyst for ESPN. "It wasn't just the three of us, it was the whole team in those early 2000 years."