The Oakland Athletics were down to their last strike when Stephen Piscotty hit a tying home run off closer Brad Hand Cheap Kemoko Turay Jersey , who was San Diego’s only All-Star last year.

Jed Lowie then hit a two-run shot with two outs in the 10th to lift the Athletics to a 4-2 victory Tuesday night.

Hand was trying for his 22nd save when Piscotty drove a 2-2 fastball into the second deck, his fifth.

”That’s a guy you don’t typically think you’re going to string some hits together against and you’re down to your last pitch and the next thing it’s a homer,” manager Bob Melvin said. ”That’s about as big a momentum shift as you’re going to get, when you’re a strike away from losing and all of a sudden now you potentially have got their closer out of the game and bullpen-wise maybe we’re a little better set.”

Against a pitcher like Hand, ”you’re probably only going to get one pitch to hit and you don’t want to miss it,” Piscotty said. ”He did a good job of getting ahead but in my mind I was just waiting for that one, and luckily I got it and didn’t miss it.”

Piscotty took a 1-2 slider to even the count before homering.

”I saw that one really good and felt confident. Sometimes when you have a good take like that it locks you in,” he said.

”We were one out away from winning the ballgame. I made a mistake, they came back and hit a home run and then the tenth inning didn’t go our way,” Hand said. ”It was down, it was just inner third. A little more in would have been better Preston Brown Jersey Elite , but it wasn’t necessarily a terrible pitch, but he made a good swing on it.”

Said manager Andy Green: ”I’m sure if he had it back, he’d throw a slider instead of a fastball. I also think he wouldn’t mean to throw the fastball right where he threw it. Brad’s been good all year. I’m not the least bit worried about him. He’s resilient as anybody, and it’s one of those days, it’s a tough loss. It one of those that stings late because we did have it. One strike away, and those games sting.”

Adam Cimber (3-3) allowed Marcus Semien’s one-out single in the 10th and retired Chad Pinder on a fly to right before Lowrie connected for his 10th homer.

”I was just looking for something over the plate that I could square up and he made a mistake right down the middle,” Lowrie said.

Rookie Lou Trivino (4-1) pitched two innings for the win. Blake Treinen pitched the 10th for his 16th save.

Padres rookie left-hander hander Eric Lauer had been in line for the victory after pitching six strong innings. He settled down after allowing an unearned run in the second and held the A’s to one run and three hits while matching his strikeout high with seven. He walked two.

The Padres had given Lauer just enough support in the first two innings against Paul Blackburn. Jose Pirela brought in a run in the first on a grounder and Raffy Lopez doubled with one out in the second to bring in rookie Franmil Reyes, who was aboard on a leadoff double.

Blackburn allowed two runs and four hits in five innings, struck out four and walked two.

The A’s scored in the second with some help from replay. Khris Davis drew a leadoff walk and was originally called out on a force play on Matt Olson’s ground ball. The A’s challenged and the call was overturned, with shortstop Freddy Galvis given an error because his foot wasn’t on second base when he took the throw. Davis advanced on Mark Canha’s single and scored when Piscotty grounded into a double play.

ROAD WARRIORS

The Padres are in a stretch in which they will play just five of 28 games at home. After going 5-5 on a trip through Miami, St. Louis and Atlanta Cheap Baker Mayfield Jersey , the Padres are home for just two games before heading out for a seven-game trip to San Francisco and Texas. Then they’re home for three games against Pittsburgh before a six-game trip to Oakland and Arizona.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Padres: Have cut short OF Franchy Cordero’s rehab assignment after he felt something in his right elbow. Manager Andy Green said it’s ”highly unlikely” Cordero is back soon.

UP NEXT

Athletics: RHP Frankie Montas (3-1, 2.67 ERA) is scheduled to start the finale of the two-game series.

Padres: Rookie LHP Joey Lucchesi (3-2, 3.23) is scheduled to return from more than a month on the DL with a strained right hip.

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Drop back. Throw long. Repeat.

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco was flinging the ball far downfield Thursday during a voluntary offseason training practice, targeting an array of receivers that includes newcomers Michael Crabtree, John Brown and Willie Snead.

”Someone kind of joked that we completed more deep balls in practice today when we did the whole offseason last year,” coach John Harbaugh said.

The Ravens’ top priority this season was to vastly improve a passing attack that last season ranked 29th in total yardage and was dead last with 5.7 yards per attempt.

General manager Ozzie Newsome dumped Mike Wallace, Jeremy Maclin and Michael Campanaro, signed the aforementioned trio of free agents and drafted two wide receivers.

Chris Moore and Breshad Perriman are the only two of 13 receivers on the roster who caught a pass for Baltimore last season. Whether it’s a change for the better remains to be seen.

”Obviously, we’ve got to do our job – catch the ball, catch touchdowns, first downs and all that Malik Jefferson Jersey ,” Crabtree said. ”I’m confident in the guys we have. We’ve got some football players here.”

Crabtree has five career TD catches of at least 40 yards; Snead will fit nicely in the slot; and Brown in 2015 had a 1,003-yard, seven-touchdown season with Arizona.

Forget the check-down pass, because the Ravens are looking to go long in 2018.

”Joe’s known for throwing the deep ball, and I think we’ll hit a lot of those,” Brown said.

Flacco is the starter, but backups Robert Griffin III, Lamar Jackson and Josh Woodrum will keep the receivers busy downfield this summer.

”Every one of our quarterbacks has a reputation for throwing the ball deep,” Harbaugh said. ”I feel like that’s got to be a big part of who we are. We want to throw it out there, and go get it.”

That was the Ravens were looking for from Perriman when they drafted him in the first round of 2015. Perriman has thus far been a huge disappointment, but the hope is that this is the year he finally fulfills his potential.

”He’s in great shape. He’s playing very fast Cheap Vita Vea Jersey ,” Harbaugh said. ”Not just that – he’s catching the ball really well. He looks much smoother, and he’s getting in and out of routes quicker. He’s taken a step in the right direction. I know he’s determined to carry that right through training camp.”

Crabtree, 30, has become the leader of the pack simply because of his age and experience.

”I don’t have a choice. I’m going on 10 (years) in the game,” he said. ”That’s just my role. At the same time, I’m out there competing like I’m 21. I’m going to have fun with it.”

Crabtree had 58 catches with Oakland last season, down from 89 in 2016. Snead started the 2017 season in New Orleans with a three-game DUI suspension and fought through a hamstring injury. Brown is looking to regain the form he showed in 2015.

All three hope the move to Baltimore will bring about a return to stardom.

”We’ve all had our ups and downs,” Brown said. ”It just feels good to have a new start and keep things rolling.”

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