Oakland Athletics center fielder JJ Bleday (33) runs out his game-winning home run against the Toronto Blue Jays during the ninth inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on June 7. D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

JJ Bleday Joins Rare Oakland Athletics History with Walk-off Winner on Friday

Originally posted on Fastball on SI | Last updated Jun 8, 2024 9:03 AM ET

The Oakland Athletics beat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-1 on Friday night to open up the series on a solid note. With the win, the A's are 26-39 while the Blue Jays fell to 30-33 with the loss.

The A's have now won two of their last four games and this win was captured thanks to a walk-off home run from center fielder JJ Bleday, his ninth home run of the season.

It also joined a rare group in team history as well, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

first-pitch walk-off HR as first batter of inning, A’s since pitch counts tracked (1988):

Today JJ Bleday b9
5/2/11 Hideki Matsui b10
5/30/88 Dave Henderson b14

first-pitch walk-off HR as first batter of inning, A’s since pitch counts tracked (1988):

Today JJ Bleday b9
5/2/11 Hideki Matsui b10
5/30/88 Dave Henderson b14 https://t.co/tCtghb6hoV
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) June 8, 2024

Hitting in the middle of the order, Bleday is now hitting .246 this season with the nine homers and 23 RBI. The 26-year-old former top prospect is in his third major league season with the Marlins and A's. He's a .203 career hitter with 24 home runs.

In addition to Bleday's heroics, Mason Miller got the win in relief. He's now 1-0 on the year and owns a 2.20 ERA. He struck out two more batters in his one inning of work.

The two teams will play again on Saturday afternoon with first pitch coming at 4:07 p.m. ET. Kevin Gausman pitches for the Blue Jays while Luis Medina pitches for the A's.

Gausman is 4-4 this year with a 4.60 ERA while Media is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA. He's worked just 5.2 innings this year. He's 25-years-old.

This article first appeared on Fastball on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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