Break up the Oakland Athletics . Saturday evening, the A’s blew out the Miami Marlins for their sixth straight win ( OAK 20, MIA 4 ), and evened their record at 17-17. It’s the first time they’ve been .500 or better since they were 1-1 two games into last season. It’s the first time they’ve been .500 or better this late into a season since they were 86-76 on the final day of 2021.
The A’s put Saturday’s game to bed early with a 10-run third inning. It was their first 10-run inning since June 18, 2019, against the Baltimore Orioles . Brent Rooker hit a two-run home run and a three-run home run as part of Saturday’s 10-run inning. He’s the first Athletic with two homers in one inning since Mark McGwire against the Seattle Mariners on Sept. 22, 1996.
The 20 runs are the A’s most since a 21-7 win over the Houston Astros Sept. 10, 2019. It is the first 20-run game in baseball this season. Here is the third inning carnage:
As noted, Saturday was Oakland’s sixth straight win. It has also won eight of its last nine games, and are 16-10 since starting the season 1-7. During this recent hot streak, the A’s split four games with the Yankees in New York, and, most impressively, took two of three from the Orioles in Baltimore. Both wins featured ninth inning comebacks.