OAKLAND — Mike Foltynewicz has a tough last name to pronounce. For the A’s, he was even tougher to hit. Almost impossible.
The 25-year-old Atlanta Braves righthander was three outs away from a no-hitter in front of an announced crowd of 19,286 at the Oakland Coliseum on Friday night. Matt Olson ended Foltynewicz’s night and historic bid with a home run to lead off the ninth, but the Braves held on for the 3-1 win to hand Oakland its third-straight loss.
The dominant eight innings by Foltynewicz (pronounced Fol-ten-eh-vich) included eight strikeouts as he was able to keep the A’s hitters off balance throughout the night.