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 — an infield single that he didn’t allow until the sixth — 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.
“I thought that was probably Bido’s best outing of the year,” said manager Mark Kotsay.
Bido wasn’t the only pitcher who had an afternoon to remember. Grant Holman, who was called up for the first time in his major-league career earlier today, escaped a seventh-inning jam in his major-league debut. Along with Holman, Michel Otañez recorded his first major-league save as Kotsay’s typical late-inning options were not available.
Neither All-Star Mason Miller nor rookie Tyler Ferguson took the mound on Saturday after each reliever tossing two innings in Thursday’s win against the Mets in New York (Ferguson threw 44 pitches, Miller threw 39). Additionally, right-hander Austin Adams did not appear for the ninth after he experienced right elbow tightness earlier in the day, Kotsay announced postgame, an ailment that will send the veteran to the injured list. But before Holman and Otañez touched the mound, Bido had the early makings of history.
“That’s a decision I have to make,” Kotsay said. “It’s not a decision Mason makes. I think for Mason, if I asked him to pitch, he would’ve pitched today. This is a situation I look long-term. I have to think long-term and what’s best for the player and make those tough decisions. It was great to see Otañez out there in the ninth.”
There has never been a perfect game in the 147-game history of the Bay Bridge Series, but Bido made his bid at the feat by retiring the first 14 batters 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, too. With one out in the sixth, 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, who has allowed two earned runs in his last three starts, may have lost the no-hitter, but he ended the inning — and his afternoon — on his own terms.
“When you see a lot of people in the stands and the vibes are going on, you always get excited,” Bido said through team interpreter Ramon Hernandez. “The more people that come, the better I feel.”
Holman, for his part, was certainly feeling good after being thrown into the fire and holding his own.
With runners on first and third in the seventh inning, 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.
“It was awesome,” Holman said. “A ton of fun. A moment I’ve been looking forward to my whole life, and I would say it lived up to it.”
Holman isn’t unfamiliar with pitching under pressure. On Aug. 16, 2013, almost exactly 11 years ago, Holman became the first pitcher since 1979 to throw an extra-inning no-hitter in the Little League World Series for East Lake Little League.
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