SAN DIEGO — The A’s struck out a season-high 18 times and then watched closer Mason Miller surrender a walk-off home run on Wednesday, capping a truly forgettable visit to Petco Park.
The 5-4 loss came hours after the Padres rallied to beat the A’s 4-3 on Kyle Higashioka’s walk-off homer Tuesday night. The A’s were swept in the three-game series — their final visit to San Diego as an Oakland-based team — and have lost five in a row.
Miller, the A’s hard-throwing rookie closer, converted his first 11 save opportunities of the season. But in his past five appearances he has been tagged with his first loss and blown save of the season, and has allowed four runs (three of them earned) in six innings. He’s allowed three home runs in 30 innings this season, all have come in the past five games.
Rookie Jackson Merrill homered off Miller with one out in the ninth on Wednesday. It was his second homer of the game and capped a comeback that saw the A’s take a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the eighth. Merrill drove the first pitch he saw from Miller (1-1) down the right field line, his fifth and flipped his bat. He was met at home by a wild celebration.
“I don’t even remember me swinging it,” said Merrill, who at 21 became the youngest player in Padres history with a game-ending homer. “It’s kind of like one of those blackout moments when you do it and it’s really surreal.”
He went deep on a Miller slider.
“As soon as I saw spin, I kind of knew, ‘You’ve got to go here,’” Merrill said. “He’s not going to leave another spin pitch right in the middle of the zone.”
The A’s did snap Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr.’s career-high 17-game hitting streak.
A’s manager Mark Kotsay was ejected in the top of the ninth by home plate umpire Tom Hanahan after arguing a strike call. The A’s struck out 18 times, including a season-high 12 by Padres starter Michael King.
The A’s rallied for three runs in the sixth to take the lead and pushed it to 4-2 in the eighth on Zack Gelof’s double to left-center.
Donovan Solano also hit two home runs, including a tying shot in the eighth. Tatis, who went 0 for 3, was aboard with a walk. Tatis’ streak had been the longest active streak in the majors.
The Padres came back to tie it at 4 in the bottom of the eighth on Solano’s two-run homer to center off Lucas Erceg.
The A’s put on a small-ball clinic in the sixth to rally from a 2-0 deficit to take a 3-2 lead.
The A’s opened the sixth with five straight singles and then a walk. King allowed consecutive singles and was relieved by Wandy Peralta. Tyler Soderstrom and Shea Langeliers hit RBI singles.
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Seth Brown, a left-handed hitter, laid down a perfect bunt to the third base side that eluded Peralta and, with third baseman Abraham Toro covering the bag as Soderstrom advanced from second, rolled all the way to the dirt, where shortstop Ha-Seong Kim fielded it and threw home too late to get Soderstrom.
Daz Cameron walked to load the bases before rookie Stephen Kolek came on and got two strikeouts and left fielder Jose Azocar made a nice sliding catch of Toro’s fly ball.
The Padres took a 2-0 lead on home runs by Solano in the second and Merrill in the fifth, both off left-hander Hogan Harris.
Harris allowed two runs and four hits in five innings, struck out five and walked one.
UP NEXT
Athletics: RHP Luis Medina (0-1, 5.23 ERA) and Twins RHP Joe Ryan (4-5, 3.30) are scheduled to start Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series at Minnesota.
