The Athletics managed to sneak out a win in Baltimore on Saturday evening, riding a hot lineup to the win against the Orioles 11-3 while getting a fantastic outing from their rookie starting pitcher. Encouraging night all around!

The A’s didn’t wait around to get things going tonight. Facing O’s rookie starter Brandon Young, leadoff man Lawrence Butler worked a leadoff walk before 2-hole hitter Shea Langeliers blasted a 2-run homer, his 23rd long ball of the year:

If he hadn’t missed a month with that oblique injury he’d probably be approaching the 30-homer threshold by now. He should still be able to get there and thus set a career-high in big flies by the time the season comes to an end. Still a month and a half to go to get seven more home runs and with the way he’s swinging the bat right now it shouldn’t take long.

That lead for the A’s didn’t last very long. On the mound for the Athletics was right-hander Jack Perkins, who was making just his second career start in the big leagues. It was about as bad of a start to this one as you could imagine. Two leadoff singles and a three-run homer off the bat of Gunnar Henderson quickly wiped away the quick lead that Langeliers had given his battery mate and suddenly the A’s were down a run.

But that quick Baltimore lead didn’t last long either! A couple hits to start the third brought All-Star DH Brent Rooker up to the plate and he upped Langeliers with a 3-run blast to retake the lead for the A’s:

That was Rook’s 24th of the season and the A’s weren’t done there. Left fielder Tyler Soderstrom followed Rooker with a double and two productive outs later came around to score the Athletics’ sixth run of the evening on a Darell Hernaiz sac fly. And there was more left to do.

Meanwhile, Perkins was more than settling in. After Henderson’s home run in the first the rookie right-hander proceeded to sit down the next 15 Orioles hitters in a row, locking in and keeping Baltimore from getting back into this game. Perkins would end up pitching six full frames, allowing just one walk in his final inning of work after the Henderson homer.

Jack Perkins: 6 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, 84 pitches

A shaky start but once he was given a lead and settled in he looked extremely comfortable on the mound facing an Orioles lineup with dangerous bats. One of the top arms in the A’s system entering the year, Perkins is showing plenty of signs of being a capable major league pitcher and the team is surely going to let him grow in the bigs. His next scheduled start should line up to be against the series opener next Friday against the Angels.

The Athletics didn’t let up on the gas on offense. The team got RBI hits from Rooker, Luis Urias, Gio Urshela and Langeliers again in the fifth that busted this game wide open for the Green & Gold:

That wrapped up the scoring for the A’s tonight and it would be more than enough for the pitching staff. After Perkins came Michael Kelly for the start of the seventh and he pitched two perfect frames that should hopefully get him back on track. And wrapping up the pitching for the A’s was lefty Hogan Harris, who had an uneventful bottom of the ninth to finish off the Orioles and secure the win for the Athletics.

Another explosion from the offense! Always fun to see. Everyone but Butler (who drew 2 walks) collected at least one hit tonight as the Orioles’ pitching had no answer for the Swingin’ A’s. Perkins was absolutely filthy as he locked in after an early mistake and kept the Orioles from getting back into this contest. Add it all up and the A’s win their 52nd game, even the series and have a chance to end the road trip with a series victory against a fellow cellar dweller. Fun night of baseball all around for the good guys.

The club wraps up the series and the road trip tomorrow morning in the finale against the Orioles. For the A’s, they’ll get a glimpse into the future as #3 prospect Luis Morales will get the call for his first career start in the big leagues. It’s been a rapid rise for the young right-hander, who has pitched across five different levels of pro ball in the past three years and has reached the top of the ladder at just 22 years old. He’s made one relief appearance for the A’s and pitched two innings while allowing three hits and one run, and he likely shouldn’t be expected to pitch deep into tomorrow’s contest. Opposing Morales will be Orioles left-hander Cade Povich, a second-year starter who is still struggling to establish himself in the big leagues. He’ll bring a 5.25 ERA across 13 starts into tomorrow’s finale. Expect a righty-heavy lineup for the A’s tomorrow morning.