Brown comes through with late-game heroics in dramatic finish 

OAKLAND -- In the last five days, the A's have had three walk-off winners. One man is responsible for two of them.

Seth Brown came through in a big way not once but twice in a 13-inning thriller that culminated in a 7-6 win over the Tigers on Friday night at the Coliseum. Coming off the bench in the 11th, Brown delivered a game-tying two-run homer before driving in the game-winner on a single two innings later.

Brown also played hero on Tuesday night, when the A's walked off the Mariners in consecutive contests.

"It's huge for us," Brown said. "It's a confidence builder for us. We're still building for next year, and we're showing what type of team we are. ... Everybody out there is full of confidence and picking each other up. It's a special team, and it's a special clubhouse."

The dramatic victory took place in front of a Coliseum crowd of 14,669 that was lively until the end, leading manager Mark Kotsay to describe the evening as "one of the better wins for us this year."

"It was a great atmosphere," Kotsay said. "I don't want to say that it's not going to be that same atmosphere next year, because we just don't know. But there's something about this place that's special when they come out and they get behind us, and tonight was one of those nights.

"You just felt the energy continue to build. They didn't leave when we went down to extra innings. They kept believing."

The A's and the Tigers have two of the best records in the American League since July 1. Add in AL Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal on the mound for Detroit and two dynamic Oakland bats at the top of the order in Lawrence Butler and Brent Rooker, and the stage was set for an exciting matchup.

The score was deadlocked through nine innings, and then the real back-and-forth began. Both teams scored once in the 10th, twice in the 11th and once in the 12th. The A's and Tigers scored in seven half-innings in extras, tying the Modern Era (since 1900) record, according to OptaSTATS. The other teams to do so were the Twins and White Sox on Sept. 10, 1974.

Finally, rookie Grant Holman -- the eighth A's pitcher of the night -- struck out Parker Meadows with the bases loaded to put up a zero in the top of the 13th.

With no deficit to overcome, the energy was different in the home dugout. With one out and JJ Bleday on second as the automatic runner, Brown roped the first pitch he saw from Tigers right-hander Beau Brieske into right field to put an end to an instant classic.

"It was pretty awesome to watch him do his thing," said top prospect Jacob Wilson, whose first career multihit game included an RBI triple off Skubal.

Holman, the A's No. 21 prospect per MLB Pipeline, earned his first MLB win, and Brown continued an impressive bounce-back from a tough first half that saw him get outrighted to Triple-A Las Vegas on June 18.

"It's like the tale of two seasons," Kotsay said. "It's the Seth before he got sent down and the Seth after, and I'm really happy and glad for him that he's turned things around and really had a really great run since he's been back here."

Brown, the longest-tenured A's player, was batting .189 and slugging just .306 with five homers before being outrighted. The 32-year-old has practically been a different player in his second stint with Oakland.

In 43 games since his contract was selected on July 11, Brown is hitting .336 with a .969 OPS. His power stroke is back, too, as he's slugging .580 with nine homers in that span.

Brown doesn't attribute the difference to an adjustment at the plate, but rather a change in mindset. He's made an effort to put less pressure on himself and just enjoy his time in the big leagues -- and results have followed.

"It's a special time to play up here in the big leagues," Brown said, "especially with a group of guys like this. So many times in this game, you get caught up with results and all this stuff. Just being able to let that go and just have fun with the game and let the cards fall where they may, and do what you can and enjoy doing it every day -- regardless of the good, the bad and the ugly."