A's Daniel Mengden quiets Giants for 1st major-league win

SAN FRANCISCO - Daniel Mengden pitched into the eighth inning for his first major league win, backed by Marcus Semien's three-run home run and four RBIs, and the Oakland Athletics beat the San Francisco Giants 8-3 on Monday night to open the Bay Bridge Series.

Semien connected in the decisive second and Jed Lowrie and Khris Davis added RBI doubles against Jeff Samardzija (8-5) in that five-run inning, then Semien added a run-scoring double in the sixth. Davis hit an RBI single in the seventh.

Mengden (1-3) retired the first 13 batters in order before Angel Pagan's one-out single in the fifth. He called it a day after loading the bases in the eighth and losing his shutout bid.

The right-hander had pitched well enough to win during his initial three major league starts but received only four runs of support combined. He had more than that when he took the ball to start the bottom of the second, leading 5-0.

With his handlebar mustache resembling Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers' famous facial hair, Mengden allowed two runs and four hits in 72/3 innings, struck out five and walked three. He threw 10 of 14 first-pitch strikes to start the game.

Right fielder Billy Burns had a leaping catch on Denard Span's hard fly ball to start the fourth, while Mengden made a great play fielding Gregor Blanco's sharp comebacker for the final out of the second.

Oakland won for the fourth time in five games as manager Bob Melvin called for his streaky club to keep some momentum and build some consistency.

The A's earned just their third win in eight interleague games while handing the Giants just their third defeat in 16 games and fourth in 17 at AT&T Park.

Samardzija, who spent the second half of the 2014 season with Oakland after a trade from the Cubs, allowed six earned runs for the third time in his past five starts. He gave up eight hits in six innings, struck out two and walked two. The right-hander - signed to a $90 million, five-year deal during the offseason - is 1-3 over his past five starts after winning three consecutive outings.

In his previous start against Oakland last season with the White Sox, Samardzija surrendered a career-high 10 runs in three innings on Sept. 15.

NOTES

A's pitchers are 0 for 13 with eight strikeouts and two sacrifices in interleague play this season and 29 for 362 (.080) since the start of interleague play.

A's right fielder Josh Reddick, out since May 20 with a fractured left thumb, had his day to be activated from the DL pushed from Monday to today as he didn't feel quite right and wanted one more rehab game with Triple-A Nashville.

A's rookie left-hander Sean Manaea is set to come off the disabled list from a strained elbow in his start Wednesday against the Giants in Oakland.

The A's claimed right-hander Nick Tepesch off waivers from the Dodgers and designated LHP Eric Surkamp for assignment to clear roster room. Tepesch will join Nashville.

Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford got a day off to rest because of what manager Bruce Bochy called “general soreness.” “We want to keep him fresh, stay away from injuries.”

Right-hander Sergio Romo (flexor strain in elbow) will have another rehab outing in the minors.

Might Madison Bumgarner be allowed to hit during his Thursday start across the bay in the A's AL park? “Too early to commit,” Bochy said.

Tonight's matchup has Kendall Graveman (3-6), who lost in his only previous start against the Giants, against San Francisco rookie right-hander Albert Suarez (3-1), who will be making his fifth major league start. Suarez has allowed three or fewer earned runs in each of his 10 total outings.

The A's lead the all-time series against the Giants 55-52 since interleague began in 1997.