A's Walk To Win Over BoSox

May 3, 1999 / 8:18 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Tim Harikkala sat alone outside the Red Sox clubhouse, his head in his hands. Gently, teammate Jim Corsi tried to console the rookie reliever.

On a day that began with heroics by Boston's Creighton Gubanich, whose first major league hit was a grand slam, Harikkala was one of many goats as the Red Sox blew two big leads and lost 12-11 in 10 innings Monday to the Oakland Athletics.

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John Jaha's bases-loaded walk off Harikkala, who had lost on Sunday to the A's, ended a game that included 24 hits, 16 walks, five homers, three wild pitches and five unearned runs.

Matt Stairs' solo homer tied the game in the ninth for the A's, who trailed 7-0 after two innings and were behind 11-6 in the eighth.

In the 10th, Tim Raines led off with a double off Kip Gross (0-1) and Tony Phillips was intentionally walked. Harikkala relieved and threw a wild pitch on his first pitch. Mike Macfarlane walked to load the bases. After Jason Giambi fouled out, Jaha walked on four pitches to end the game.

"Today was a shame. It was a tough loss. It should never have gotten there," said Boston reliever Derek Lowe, who allowed two runs in a third of an inning in the eighth. "It seems like we (bullpen) don't have a lot of confidence as a group. We're letting teams back in the game."

T. J. Mathews (4-0) pitched a perfect 10th for the win.

"I've begun to think we're not out of it until the last out comes around, especially when we're down seven runs and come back," said Tony Phillips, who hit a three-run homer for the A's.

Gubanich made the most of his first major league hit by making it a grand slam, becoming the first player to do that in 17 years.

Nomar Garciaparra and Troy O'Leary each added two RBIs for the Red Sox and John Valentin homered for the second straight day. Jaha and Phillips hit three-run homers for the A's.

Gubanich, called up by the ed Sox on April 16 to replace injured catcher Scott Hatteberg, had only three major league at-bats a strikeout, a popout and an inning-ending double play grounder before Monday.

With Boston already leading 1-0 on O'Leary's RBI single, Gubanich hit a 3-2 pitch from Jimmy Haynes over the left-center fence. Gubanich, who likely will return to the minors when Hatteberg returns from the disabled list in a few days, pumped his right arm in the air as he rounded first base.

Gubanich become the first player with a grand slam for his initial major league hit since Orlando Mercado did it for Seattle against Texas on Sept. 19, 1982.

"I was ecstatic. You always dream of getting your first hit in the big leagues," Gubanich said. "I was telling the guys the other day it would be real good to get your first hit, your first RBI and your first homer at the same time."

Gubanich, who got the ball back from the grand slam, said he'll retire the 33-ounce bat he used to hit the homer.

"It will never be used again. It's great I'm in the record book," he said.

The Red Sox added two runs in the second on an RBI double by Brian Daubach and a sacrifice fly by Garciaparra to take a 7-0 lead, and Valentin hit his fourth homer a solo shot in the fourth.

The A's made it close on the homers by Jaha and Phillips. Jaha hit his seventh of the season in the third, and Phillips had his seventh in the fourth. Both homers came off Red Sox starter Mark Portugal, who allowed six runs in four innings.

Boston responded with two runs in the sixth on an RBI double by Garciaparra and a run-scoring single by O'Leary, and scored again in the seventh on an error.

The A's scored four runs in the eighth to pull within 11-10. Pinch-hitter Eric Chavez had a two-run double and then scored on two wild pitches by Mark Guthrie. Pinch-hitter Macfarlane added an RBI double and Giambi followed with a single, but right fielder Trot Nixon threw out Macfarlane the potential tying run at the plate.

Haynes allowed eight runs four earned on seven hits and four walks in 3 2-3 innings.

"I'm glad that our team battled back, but it was a rough day for me," Haynes said. "I was trying to make every pitch a great pitch, instead of just making good pitches."

Notes: Gubanich, 27, originally was drafted by Oakland in 1990 after graduating from Phoenixville Area High School in Pennsylvania, the same school from which Mike Piazza had graduated three years earlier. He also was in the Milwaukee, Colorado and San Diego farm systems before being signed by the Red Sox as a free agent. ... The A's began the day last in the AL in hitting at .248. ... Oakland has allowed 27 unearned runs in 27 games this season, including five on Monday. ... Garciaparra, who went 2-for-5 Monday, was 8-for-18 in the four-game series with three doubles, five RBIs and five runs scored. He has a career average of .426 agaist Oakland, with 29 RBIs. ... The Red Sox are 0-8 this season in games in which Gross has appeared.