Bido's 2nd straight gem leads A's to shutout of Giants

OAKLAND -- Osvaldo Bido threw six scoreless innings for the second straight start as the A’s beat the Giants 2-0 Saturday at the Coliseum in the first game of the final Bay Bridge Series.

Bido allowed just one infield single in six innings, striking out six and walking two. In Toronto, his prior outing, he allowed just two singles and a walk in six innings.

"That was probably his best outing of the year,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “He commanded the baseball really well. Obviously, a lot more life. I think the two extra days off at this point in August really helped. Outside of the infield single, he really dominated the lineup today.”

Bido retired the first 14 batters he faced until Mike Yastrzemski walked on five pitches with two outs in the fifth. The only hit he allowed was a dribbler down the third-base line by Grant McCray with one out in the sixth inning.

His last two outings have been a welcome surprise for the A’s, who signed Bido to a one-year contract last November.

Bido started as a middle reliever before injuries opened up a spot in the starting rotation last month. He improved to 4-3 with a 3.40 ERA and threw 58 strikes on 91 pitches.

“Just be focused and try to throw strikes, that’s the main thing,” Bido said through A’s coach and interpreter Ramon Hernandez. “Just keep working and keep having a routine and hopefully it will keep going.”

A remade bullpen came through to maintain the shutout. All-Star closer Mason Miller, Tyler Ferguson and Austin Adams were all unavailable Saturday -- Miller threw 39 pitches and Ferguson threw 44 pitches on Thursday, and Adams reported tightness in his right elbow before the game.

As a result, No. 21 prospect Grant Holman made his Major League debut in the seventh inning with runners on the corners and two outs. He got pinch-hitter Casey Schmitt to ground out to second but allowed a leadoff double to McCray in the eighth and then struck out Tyler Fitzgerald.

Michel Otañez struck out the side in the ninth inning, earning his first career save, working around a two-out single by former A’s player Mark Canha and a walk to Patrick Bailey.

Lawrence Butler hit a sac fly in the fifth and Seth Brown, who went 3-for-3, hit an RBI single in the sixth to provide the scoring for the A’s, who improved to 16-9 after the All-Star break.

A season-high crowd of 37,551, divided between A’s and Giants fans, came to witness the final scheduled series between the Bay Area rivals.

“I think the excitement and the energy in the stadium today was amazing,” Kotsay said. “The A’s fans showed up today in big numbers, bigger than the Giants fans today, and that was special. It was something that you can’t replace and that we’ll remember.”