Luis Barrera probably shouldn’t have been in the batter’s box in the ninth inning on Saturday afternoon at the Coliseum.
Angels closer Raisel Iglesias needed just eight pitches to retire Seth Brown and Sean Murphy, recording two quick outs against a pair of A’s power threats. But with his team trailing 3-1, Barrera took his first at-bat of the game anyway as Ramón Laureano’s double and Christian Bethancourt’s walk brought the winning run to the plate.
The 1-1 slider Iglesias threw Barrera wasn’t necessarily a strike, but it didn’t need to be. The left-handed hitting outfielder turned on the pitch and blasted it into the right field bleachers for a walk-off, three-run home run in a thrilling 4-3 comeback win for the A’s.
