Oakland Athletics vs Philadelphia Phillies Box Score on Sep 15, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Sep 15, 2017

PHILADELPHIA -- Oakland Athletics starter Daniel Mengden, backed by two early home runs, turned in the most dominant outing of his young career, going the distance as the A’s blanked the Philadelphia Phillies 4-0 on Friday night at Citizens Bank Park.

Though Mengden (1-1) entered Friday night with a 7.07 ERA in three big-league starts scattered over the course of the season, the 24-year-old right-hander absolutely shut down a Phillies offense that had put up 27 runs in its previous three games.

Mengden needed 118 pitches to throw his first career complete-game shutout, striking out seven -- including the last two batters he faced -- while giving up just two hits without issuing a walk.

The Phillies (57-90) only had one runner get past first base all night long, and only left one man on base. Rookie shortstop J.P. Crawford had the team’s only two hits, going 2-for-3.

It was a statement outing from Mengden, the former fourth-round draft pick who has struggled with injuries this year, suffering a foot injury in February and then a rib injury in June.

After failing to go more than five innings in any of seven minor league starts in August and early September, Mengden has now thrown 14 innings while giving up just two earned runs in two starts with the A’s (65-82) over the past week.

Mengden also picked up his first career hit, a hard-hit ground-ball single into left field that just barely got past Phillies shortstop J.P. Crawford in the second inning. He then scored his first run, coming around to touch home on Matt Joyce’s second-inning home run.

A’s first baseman Matt Olson put his team on the board in the first inning with a two-run shot to right, his 19th of the season. It’s the eighth home run of the month for the rookie, one of four players in the Oakland lineup in either his first or second year in the majors.

Joyce’s 24th homer of the year came on a first-pitch fastball and found the second deck in right field at Citizens Bank Park.

That was all the offense the Athletics needed to pick up their seventh win in their last 10 games.

Phillies starter Mark Leiter Jr. (3-6) took the loss, though he settled in nicely after the two home runs.

Leiter Jr. tied his career high with nine strikeouts, giving up seven hits and four earned runs plus one walk as his ERA climbed slightly to 4.93.

NOTES: The series continues Saturday as Phillies RHP Ben Lively (3-6, 3.86 ERA) takes on A’s RHP Kendall Graveman (5-4, 4.48 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET. ... This is only the sixth-ever series between the A’s and Phillies. They shared the city of Philadelphia from 1901-54 before the A’s left for Kansas City and then Oakland in 1968. ... The A’s moved to 2-2 on their nine-game road trip, which began in Boston (1-2) and concludes in Detroit next week. ... The Phillies have the worst interleague record in the majors this season (4-14). Oakland (6-12) had been tied for second-worst entering the evening.