Major League Baseball

Switch-pitcher Venditte gets 1st win, A's top D-backs in 11

Published Aug. 30, 2015 8:36 p.m. ET

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PHOENIX (AP) A frigid beer shower never felt better to Pat Venditte, the switch-pitcher's reward for his first major league win at age 30.

Venditte, switching hands from right to left to right in the 11th, tossed two scoreless innings with a strikeout as the Oakland Athletics beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-4 on Sunday. He got help from teammate Marcus Semien's two-run single with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the 11th.

''Getting to this level, you do reflect on some of the long bus rides and different countries you have to play in to get to this. But to get this first one was very special,'' Venditte said.

Semien's big hit came after singles by Danny Valencia and Stephen Vogt. Josh Phegley was hit by a pitch from Brad Ziegler (1-1) to load the bases.

Ziegler had to escape a bases-loaded jam in the 10th and took the loss against his former team after allowing three runs and six hits in 1 2-3 innings.

''I made some good pitches and early on they found a lot of holes. It made me have to work a lot harder to just get out of the first inning,'' Ziegler said. ''Then in the (11th) inning they did a really good job going the other way with pitches. Sometimes that happens.''

Eric Sogard singled in a run off A.J. Schugel to complete the scoring.

''This is probably, this year, the hardest we've fought after giving up a deficit late,'' A's manager Bob Melvin said. ''I really didn't want to use (Venditte). Next thing you know I'm using him two innings and he's getting his first win.''

The Diamondbacks forced extra innings against Oakland lefty Drew Pomeranz. David Peralta's sacrifice fly drove in Ender Inciarte to tie it 4-all in the ninth.

Pomeranz threw three inside pitches to Inciarte that backed him off home plate, the third one sparking a heated exchange of words between the two. After Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale came out to calm Inciarte, he ripped a single up the middle that almost hit Pomeranz.

''He's not trying to hit him there,'' Melvin said of Pomeranz's pitches. ''Sometimes the ball gets away from you.''

Mark Canha doubled in Coco Crisp from first base in the seventh, giving the A's a 4-3 lead.

Peralta's home run leading off the third, his 14th this season, gave the Diamondbacks a 3-2 advantage. The A's drew even on a homer from Vogt in the fourth.

''It was just nice for us to see it, in a game that could have easily just swayed the other way like so many of our games have this year,'' Vogt said of his team's win.

The Diamondbacks took a 2-0 lead on pair of two-out hits in the second inning, both coming after a throwing error by A's starting pitcher Jesse Chavez.

Inciarte drove in Yasmany Tomas with a line-drive single over the glove of second baseman Sogard, and Chris Owings singled to left to drive in pitcher Allen Webster, who reached on Chavez's errant toss to first base.

Oakland responded by taking advantage of a Diamondbacks error in the top of the third, also after two outs. After Billy Burns walked, Canha reached on a throwing error by third baseman Jake Lamb and Burns hustled around the bases to score. Josh Reddick then tripled to right field, with Canha coming home to tie the score at 2.

Chavez lasted five innings and allowed three runs on eight hits with six strikeouts and a walk, also collecting his first major league hit in the fifth. But he was thrown out at third base after stumbling around second on a single by Burns.

Webster yielded three runs, one earned, in five innings. Peralta had three hits and two RBIs for Arizona.

Silvino Bracho made his major league debut in the ninth, the 27th pitcher the Diamondbacks have used this season. That's one shy of tying the team record from 2010.

WALKS TO REMEMBER

Arizona All-Star Paul Goldschmidt drew his 99th and 100th walks, a single-season high for Goldschmidt that tied Luis Gonzalez's club record of 100 in 2001.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Athletics: INF Brett Lawrie sat out with back tightness but could return to the lineup Monday, Melvin said.

Diamondbacks: LHP Andrew Chafin was sent down to Triple-A Reno for eight days of rest before he is eligible to return to the majors. Chafin has logged 67 1-3 innings for Arizona in his first full season in the big leagues. ... INF Aaron Hill has a bruised hand but was available.

UP NEXT

Athletics: LHP Felix Doubront (1-1, 3.70 ERA) is scheduled to face the Angels on Monday in Oakland.

Diamondbacks: Robbie Ray is coming off a loss to St. Louis last week and seeks his first win since July 7. Ray (3-10, 3.86) faces the Rockies on Monday in Denver.

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