Stephen Piscotty was perfectly fine with Andy Green’s decision to walk Matt Olson to load the bases ahead of him with no outs in the eighth inning.

He liked Green’s move even more after hitting a go-ahead double to keep the plucky Athletics rolling along.

Piscotty doubled three times and had three RBIs http://www.broncosauthorizedshops.com/authentic-dre_mont-jones-jersey , helping Oakland beat San Diego 4-2 on Wednesday.

”We know we have a really good offense and if we keep that game close anything can happen in any inning,” Piscotty said. ”We’ve been doing it all year. It’s a great testament to this team, how well we battle late.”

Khris Davis added an RBI single for the A’s, who have won 14 of 17 to move a season-high nine games over .500.

”We have a young group that’s played together that expects to win,” manager Bob Melvin said. ”There’s a lot more to go before we consider it special, but here recently we’ve been playing really well.”

Piscotty doubled in Olson in the second, and then had another two-base hit in the sixth. He snapped a 2-all tie in the eighth with a two-run double off Craig Stammen.

Green opted to pitch to Piscotty in the eighth. Jed Lowrie drew a leadoff walk off Jose Castillo (1-2) and Davis doubled before Olson was walked.

Chapman said the intentional walk was the smart play, even though it backfired on the Padres.

”Olson’s a power guy and he’s a left-hander and there’s a base open and it’s a tie ballgame. It made a lot of sense,” Piscotty said. ”I was ready as soon as guys were on second and third.”

Lou Trivino (7-1) retired two batters for the win. Blake Treinen pitched the ninth for his 22nd save.

Christian Villanueva hit his 17th home run for San Diego. The Padres lost all four games against the A’s this season.

”We’re not getting hits with runners in scoring position,” said Green, who is in his third year managing the Padres. ”Sometimes the best thing you can do is relax, go play baseball and enjoy what you’re doing and then the hits start coming.”

OH SO SMOOTH

Oakland third baseman Matt Chapman was hitless in three at-bats, but helped with a pair of sparkling defensive plays. The A’s rookie made a diving stop on A.J. Ellis‘ grounder in the fourth T.J. Hockenson Jersey , and then made a spinning backhand grab of Hunter Renfroe’s sharp grounder down the third-base line to begin a 5-4-3 double play in the sixth.

”You look at the box score and it shows oh-for, but for us he drove in like three runs,” Melvin said. ”There’s two plays there that are going to lead to some runs probably for sure.”

STRONG STARTS, NO DECISIONS

Neither starting pitcher figured in the decision.

San Diego’s Luis Perdomo, who was called up from the minors before the game, allowed two runs over 5 2/3 innings in his first start since April 15.

Oakland’s Sean Manaea gave up two runs in seven innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Padres: Closer Brad Hand rejoined the team after missing Tuesday’s game for personal reasons.

Athletics: A day after getting spiked on the side of his leg while covering first base, Chris Bassitt was still noticeably sore, but isn’t expected to miss his turn in the rotation. … RHP Daniel Mengden (sprained right foot) will make a rehab start with Triple-A Nashville on Friday.

UP NEXT

Padres: LHP Eric Lauer (3-5, 5.08 ERA) faces the Diamondbacks for the first time in his career Thursday in the opener of a four-game series in Arizona. Lauer had a 2.76 ERA in six June starts.

Athletics: RHP Paul Blackburn (2-2, 6.46) pitches Friday in Cleveland, seeking a second consecutive win over the Indians.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The two clubs opening the wild card playoff round at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday afternoon enter from opposite perspectives.

The Chiefs clinched their second straight AFC West championship two weeks ago and coasted to the finish. The Tennessee Titans fought to the final minute of the season in breaking a three-game skid to clinch their first playoff berth since 2008.

“We had a number of chances to get ourselves in, but unfortunately we had to wait until the last one to do it Zach Brown Jersey ,” Titans coach Mike Mularkey said. “I don’t know if that made it better, but it’s a good feeling.”

The Titans and Chiefs have some familiarity with one another. Tennessee visited Kansas City in Week 15 of the 2016 season, overcoming a 17-7 fourth-quarter deficit in rallying for a 19-17 win.

Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said his offense and quarterback Alex Smith missed too many opportunities in that game.

“We started out fast and then they creeped back, they got us there at the end,” Nagy said. “We had some opportunities to make some plays, we didn’t. We’ve all watched that tape, we understand what wrong and how to try to fix it.”

Tennessee left an impression on Kansas City head coach Andy Reid as an active bunch on both sides of the football with good speed, including with the mobile Marcus Mariota at quarterback.

“He’s a real smart kid,” Reid said. “Looks like he’s picked it up well. He’s got a pretty good feel for the pass game. He’s got good players around him too.”

The Chiefs remain wary of the scrambling ability of Mariota and his ability to make plays outside the pocket. Mariota finished the regular season with just 13 touchdown passes versus 15 interceptions.

“I don’t have to harp on that with him, he knows we’ve got to do a better job of taking care of the football, especially this time of year,” Mularkey said.

Kansas City’s defense thrives on turnovers, which have proved highly predictive of the team’s success this season. The defense generated 24 turnovers during the team’s 10 wins but took the ball away just twice in six loses.

Mularkey said that’s indicative of Kansas City’s complementary style in all three phases.

“They do a great job of taking care of the football and they do a great job of taking it away Kyler Murray Jersey ,” Mularkey said. “Well coached, a lot of the same guys have been there a long time in the same schemes, they execute it very well.”

The Chiefs enter the game with a series of injuries taking a hard on their special teams. The team lost kick returners Akeem Hunt and De’Anthony Thomas to injuries in the season finale for the remainder of the season, leaving them with only wide receiver Tyreek Hill with significant experience returning kickoffs. But the team has been reluctant to expose a key offensive weapon to the kick return game.

The team is also battling injuries along the defensive line, with Rakeem Nunez-Roches and Jarvis Jenkins missing practice time this week. That could prove pivotal in a game in which the Chiefs hope to slow down the Titans’ rushing attack and contain Mariota in the pocket.

Running back DeMarco Murray has been ruled out with an MCL tear, leaving Derrick Henry as the team’s lead back against the Chiefs. Starting cornerback Logan Ryan and Da’Norris Searcy both missed practice Wednesday with an illness.

While the Chiefs’ veteran roster has four playoff appearances in four seasons under Reid, this marks the first appearance for most of the Titans’ players as well as the first for Mularkey in six seasons as a head coach. He doesn’t believe postseason experience makes much of a difference in matchup such as this.

“I don’t think so,” Mularkey said. “Everything gets amped up and that won’t be any different for this one. I don’t think there’s any advantage by having it.”

Kansas City may have the experience but they also history working against them. The Chiefs haven’t won a playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium in 24 years. Smith wouldn’t mind seeing that streak come to an end.

“It would be nice to break that but you can’t add any extra motivation once you get to this stage,” Smith said. “It is tough to add any more motivation with historic streaks or things like that. We would love for that to be a byproduct of hard work and getting a win.”