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Raider alum Murphy kickstarts Oakland; A’s advance to ALDS
10/1/2020 8:45:00 PM | Baseball
OAKLAND – Former Wright State standout and current Oakland Athletics rookie catcher Sean Murphy blasted a 424-foot two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth inning on Thursday afternoon, pulling Oakland to within a run and kickstarting the offense as the Athletics went on to defeat the Chicago White Sox 6-4 in a win-or-go home game three in the American League Wild Card round.
Murphy and the Athletics now advance to the American League Division Series, where they will meet the Houston Astros. The ALDS begins Monday at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles as Major League Baseball moves to a 'bubble' and neutral site format for the remainder of the playoffs.
The homer was the first in Murphy's short postseason career after the rookie connected on seven home runs during the shortened regular season. The former Raiders' blast pulled the home team to within a run and turned out to be what the Oakland offense needed, as the Athletics tallied six total runs over the fourth and fifth innings and never looked back.
The catcher finished the three-game set against Chicago hitting .375 (3-for-8) with a hit in each game, and three runs scored to go along with his homer and two RBI Thursday.
Murphy started all three games of the wild card series after 43 starts in the regular season of his rookie campaign. Dating back to last season, Murphy has started behind the plate in Oakland's last four postseason games, earning the start in the 2019 American League Wild Card game after appearing in 20 games as a September call-up.
Prior to the start of the postseason, Murphy was named a first team member on MLB Pipeline's 2020 All-Rookie Team, released on MLB.com September 23, and was rated as the eighth-highest rookie in relation to future value by MLB.com on September 22.
A third-round draft pick of the Athletics in 2016, Murphy came to Wright State as a walk-on from Centerville and proceeded to start 150 games over three seasons, earn Horizon League Freshman of the Year honors in 2014 and earn all-league accolades all three years as a Raider. During his time in a Raider uniform, Wright State went 124-56 (.689), winning two Horizon League regular season and tournament championships while making two NCAA tournament appearances.
Murphy and the Athletics now advance to the American League Division Series, where they will meet the Houston Astros. The ALDS begins Monday at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles as Major League Baseball moves to a 'bubble' and neutral site format for the remainder of the playoffs.
The homer was the first in Murphy's short postseason career after the rookie connected on seven home runs during the shortened regular season. The former Raiders' blast pulled the home team to within a run and turned out to be what the Oakland offense needed, as the Athletics tallied six total runs over the fourth and fifth innings and never looked back.
The catcher finished the three-game set against Chicago hitting .375 (3-for-8) with a hit in each game, and three runs scored to go along with his homer and two RBI Thursday.
Murphy started all three games of the wild card series after 43 starts in the regular season of his rookie campaign. Dating back to last season, Murphy has started behind the plate in Oakland's last four postseason games, earning the start in the 2019 American League Wild Card game after appearing in 20 games as a September call-up.
Prior to the start of the postseason, Murphy was named a first team member on MLB Pipeline's 2020 All-Rookie Team, released on MLB.com September 23, and was rated as the eighth-highest rookie in relation to future value by MLB.com on September 22.
A third-round draft pick of the Athletics in 2016, Murphy came to Wright State as a walk-on from Centerville and proceeded to start 150 games over three seasons, earn Horizon League Freshman of the Year honors in 2014 and earn all-league accolades all three years as a Raider. During his time in a Raider uniform, Wright State went 124-56 (.689), winning two Horizon League regular season and tournament championships while making two NCAA tournament appearances.
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