What a difference ten days makes for the A’s after getting blown out by the Giants 24-1 on May 4. As Cubs took to the field to start the game, it didn’t go so well for the Cubs. It was their second straight loss to the A’s back to back. To start the game, batter Theo Sox got a walk and scored with the bases loaded on a Timmy Hodgson double to get two runs on the board. A’s pitcher Nate Bourgoin hit a single with the A’s scoring another run by Zander Giltmartin. The A’s had a 4-0 lead at the end of the 1st inning. A’s pitcher Nate Bourgoin did really well in 5 innings. In the 2nd inning, Bourgoin did not allow any hits or walks. The Cubs had to change their pitcher Cole Cleary. The Cubs pitching was good but the A’s kept hot - scoring a two run homer hit by Henry Harkins. The A’s had a 6-0 lead at the end of the 2nd inning.
The Cubs got on the board with a homer by Griffin Bond. However, they could not turn that into ongoing momentum. Bourgoin’s pitching was amazing only letting one run score in the entire game. He threw mostly strikes the whole game, very few walks. In the 4th inning, the Cubs brought in Will Mehra to pitch. For the A’s, Bourgoin pitched five out of six innings allowing only a few hits. The Cubs did well fielding, catching pop ups in the outfield. Jacob Moreau caught 6 out of 8 pop ups and scored the only run for the Cubs. In the 6th inning, the A’s finished the game by scoring six more runs. The A’s Michael Choi scored a three run homer to give the A’s a 9-1 lead. With the bases loaded, Timmy Hodgson got a walk which allowed Nate Bourgoin to score followed by a two run homer by Theo Sox. So the A’s ended up winning the game 11-1. What an improvement by the A’s after the big loss against the Giants.
After the game I got a chance to speak with A’s pitcher Nate Bourgoin who had a great night. He said “I maintained my focus by keeping my cool. That night we lost to Giants…well we have to forget about that game and move on. Also Timmy Hodgson, the catcher, did really well too.” It was a good win for the A’s and not so good an outcome for the Cubs.
