Bumgarner hits, pitches Giants past Athletics
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Left-hander Madison Bumgarner made major league history at the plate and earned his ninth win of the season on the mound Thursday night as the San Francisco Giants defeated the Oakland Athletics 12-6 at the Oakland Coliseum.
Bumgarner (9-4) became the first starting pitcher in 40 years to intentionally hit for himself at an American League stadium.
The White Sox had starting pitcher Ken Brett hit instead of using a designated hitter in two games in 1976. Pitcher Andy Sonnanstine hit for the Tampa Bay Rays in a DH game in 2009, but only because manager Joe Maddon made a mistake filling out his lineup card.
Bumgarner, who has 13 career home runs, hit a leadoff double in his first at-bat, sparking a six-run rally in the third inning when the Giants batted around. Bumgarner went 1-for-4 and had two at-bats in the third inning.
On the mound, Bumgarner gave up four runs on seven hits, including two home runs, over 6 1/3 innings. Bumgarner struck out four, walked none and ended his two-game losing streak.
Buster Posey hit a three-run homer and Brandon Crawford a solo shot for the Giants -- both in the third inning. Crawford had three hits, while Posey, Brandon Belt, Denard Span, Angel Pagan and Grant Green had two apiece. Belt drove in four runs.
Marcus Semien hit his 16th home run, setting a single-season high with a solo shot in the first inning for the A's. Yonder Alonso hit a two-run shot off Bumgarner in the seventh, cutting the Giants' lead to 8-4. Jake Smolinski went 3-for-4.
After losing three straight games to the A's, San Francisco salvaged a victory in the finale and stopped Oakland from becoming the first team to sweep a Bay Bridge Series.
A's rookie left-hander Dillon Overton (1-1) gave up eight runs on eight hits, including two home runs and four doubles, in three innings. Overton, who beat the Los Angeles Angels in his major league debut Saturday at Angel Stadium, lost his first career start at the Coliseum. He walked three and struck out one.
The A's took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Semien homered with one out off Bumgarner, but the Giants answered with six runs in the third, batting around against Overton.
Bumgarner led off that inning with a double to right-center that went in and out of center fielder Billy Burns' glove. Overton walked Span, and Pagan blooped a single to left, loading the bases.
Belt drove in two runs with a ground-rule double that bounced off the warning track in left-center and over the wall. Posey followed with a three-run blast to deep left-center, and Crawford hit Overton's next pitch for a home run to right, making it 6-1.
The Giants added two runs in the top of the fourth. Span hit a leadoff double, and Pagan followed with an RBI double that ended Overton's night. Crawford drove in Pagan with a two-out single.
Oakland cut the Giants' lead to 8-2 in the bottom of the inning when Billy Butler doubled and scored on Smolinski's single.
NOTES: The A's placed LHP Sean Doolittle (strained left shoulder) on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Saturday. Last year, he missed 121 games and had two stints on the DL because of left shoulder injuries. He was scheduled to have an MRI exam late Thursday afternoon. ... Oakland recalled LHP Daniel Coulombe and RHP Andrew Triggs from Triple-A Nashville and optioned RHP Zach Neal to Nashville. ... The Giants recalled INF Grant Green from Triple-A Sacramento, and he started at second base against the A's. ... Giants RHP Chris Stratton was optioned to Sacramento. ... Giants INF Ramiro Pena had an MRI on Thursday that confirmed the initial diagnosis of a sprained left ankle. Pena was injured during a collision with RF Mac Williamson in the third inning Wednesday. Pena is expected to be out of the lineup for 5-to-7 days but might be available to pinch-hit this weekend.