Instant Replay: Athletics 8, Phillies 6 (10 innings)

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OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Phillies let another one slip away, losing to the Athletics 8-6 in 10 innings.

A.J. Burnett had another rocky outing but was long gone by the time this one was decided.

The Phillies overcame three big deficits to keep the game close but managed only one runner over the final three innings and fell 14 games below .500.

Starting pitching report
The Phillies handed Burnett an early lead in the first inning and he promptly gave it back. The A’s got back to their patient ways and worked Burnett for 32 pitches in the opening frame when they strung together three consecutive hits to go with a leadoff walk and a hit batter.

It didn’t get much better after that.

The A’s loaded the bases without a hit in the second on two walks and another hit batter, then Burnett walked Geovany Soto to force in a run.

Burnett was finished after issuing consecutive one-out walks in the fifth. He walked six overall. On the plus side, Burnett moved past Charlie Hough into 43rd place on baseball’s all-time strikeout list with 2,363. Next up, Sandy Koufax at 2,396.

Scott Kazmir wasn’t much better for Oakland. Winless since Aug. 19, the lefty was tagged for one run in the first, two in the third, one in the fourth and two in the six. He let leads of 3-1, 4-3 and 6-4 slip away.

Bullpen report
The Phillies slammed the door on the A’s offense until Miguel Gonzalez (0-1) served up Josh Donaldson’s walkoff, two-run home run in the 10th. Gonzalez got Coco Crisp to pop out, then gave up a single to Nate Freiman before Donaldson homered on a 1-0 pitch.

Cesar Jimenez inherited a bad situation and gave up a two-run double to the second batter he faced after replacing Burnett. The bullpen was fine after that. Jimenez didn’t give up another hit, while Luis Garcia and Jake Diekman combined for with 2 2/3 scoreless innings.

Justin De Fratus pitched out of jam in the ninth, striking out Soto and Eric Sogard with runners on the corners.

Four Oakland relievers combined for 4 2/3 shutout innings.

At the plate
The Phillies took advantage of another terrible outing by Kazmir to keep things interesting.

Marlon Byrd put together a solid afternoon with two hits and three RBIs. He showed good focus on his game-tying, two-run double in the third, driving the ball to the wall in left-center after falling behind 0-2.

Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Cody Asche had two hits apiece.

Freddy Galvis’ foul-out to third baseman Donaldson with the tiebreaking run at third in the eighth was huge. Ben Revere followed with a groundout to first, ending the Phillies’ threat.

Donaldson’s game-ending home run was his third of the season.

In the field
Late defensive replacement Tony Gwynn Jr. slipped while trying to chase down Nick Punto’s hit into the gap in left-center, allowing the ball to roll to the fence as Punto raced to third without a throw.

The Phillies also got a little sloppy in the sixth inning but it wasn’t costly. With a runner on first, Garcia struck out Dunn but the pitched skipped past catcher Carlos Ruiz. Donaldson raced from first to second, then advanced to third when Ruiz threw to first trying to get Dunn, who was already out and mistakenly jogged down the base line.

Up next
The Phillies get an off day Monday before ending the road trip with a three-game series at Miami, then returning home for the season-ending, three-game set with Atlanta. LHP Cole Hamels (9-7, 2.47) starts Tuesday. Hamels has allowed one earned run or fewer in three of his previous four starts.

The A’s, who began the day leading the AL wild-card race, start a three-game series against the Angels. RHP Jeff Samardzija (4-5, 3.13) pitches the opener.

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