OAKLAND — Osvaldo Bido only had one, lone opportunity to make his mark on the rivalry between The City and The Town. He didn’t miss his chance.
In the penultimate game of the Bay Bridge Series, Bido allowed one hit across six shutout innings as the A’s (53-70) beat the Giants (62-63), 2-0, on Saturday evening at the Oakland Coliseum following the team’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
Bido retired the first 14 batters that he faced before walking Mike Yastrzemski with two outs in the fifth inning. Patrick Bailey elicited thousands of gasps as he sent a deep drive to the right-field warning track following Yastrzemski’s walk, but right fielder Lawrence Butler settled under the ball and made an easy, inning-ending catch.
The right-hander’s chance at a no-hitter would soon end, though. With one out in the sixth inning, Grant McCray recorded the Giants’ first hit of the afternoon with a swinging bunt to the infield’s left side. Bido was the only defender with a chance of making the play, but McCray arrived at first base well before Bido’s throw. Bido, understanding his shot at history was over, yelled in frustration.
That burst of emotion may have had a carryover effect. Following the single, Bido walked the next batter, Tyler Fitzgerald, putting runners on first and second with one out for the heart of the Giants’ lineup. Pitching coach Scott Emerson quickly jogged out for a mound visit, providing Bido with a much-needed reprieve. Bido responded with execution.
He struck out LaMonte Wade Jr. on three pitches, then got Heliot Ramos to hit a line drive right into the awaiting glove of center fielder JJ Bleday. Bido may have lost the no-hitter, but he ended the inning — and his afternoon — on his own terms.
Over his last three starts, Bido has allowed just two earned runs over 18 innings (1.00 ERA). This isn’t just the first time Bido has recorded three straight quality starts, but the first time he’s thrown six innings in three straight appearances, period.
Grant Holman, who earned his first major-league call-up prior to Saturday’s game, was thrown right into the fire for his major-league debut — and held his own.
With runners on first and third in the seventh inning, manager Mark Kotsay called upon Holman, a sixth-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft out of Cal, to protect Oakland’s 2-0 lead. Holman obliged.
On the fifth pitch of his major-league career, Holman induced an inning-ending groundout, maintaining the A’s advantage. Holman, who never attended a Bay Bridge Series game during his collegiate career in Berkeley, recorded his first career strikeout in the following inning, freezing Fitzgerald on a fastball before being pulled.
Holman wasn’t the only one checking off boxes. With Mason Miller completing a two-inning save on Thursday against the Mets, Kotsay handed the ball to rookie right-hander Michel Otañez in the ninth inning. Otañez allowed a pair of baserunners by way of a single and a walk, but ultimately recorded his first career save.
