Washington Nationals at Athletics

WEST SACRAMENTO – The Athletics returned from the All-Star break fully believing they are still capable of turning this season around. Before that could happen, they desperately just needed a win, something that had eluded them for over two weeks. Mired in a brutal 10-game losing streak, it was going to take a big performance to snap out of it. Perhaps a big swing of the bat, or a dominant pitching performance. The A’s got both in Saturday night’s 15-1 blowout victory over the Nationals at Sutter Health Park. One night after getting punched in the mouth by the Nationals in a 23-4 defeat that was easily the worst loss of the season, the A’s picked themselves back up and responded exactly the way manager Mark Kotsay hoped. The offense, sparked by Jacob Wilson’s booming 411-foot solo shot off Zack Littell to lead off the bottom of the first, racked up a season-high run total on 13 hits. “Obviously, yesterday, we got our butts whooped,” Wilson said. “That hurt, and with the stretch we’ve been going through, it’s not a good feeling after the game sitting in the locker room. … That’s a win we definitely needed.” J.T. Ginn was masterful as he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning before finishing with 6 1/3 scoreless frames. It was the second time Ginn has flirted with a no-no deep into a ballgame this season. This one was considerably less heartbreaking than the last one, which saw him lose a no-hit bid in the ninth against the Angels on May 18 before getting walked off for a loss. In doing so, Ginn became the fourth A’s pitcher in the last 50 years with multiple no-hit bids of 6-plus innings in a season, joining: 2001 Mark Mulder 1992 Ron Darling (4) 1979 Mike Norris On Saturday, Ginn held a comfortable 8-0 lead with one out in the seventh when Keibert Ruiz ended the bid by lining a single to center. That would be Ginn’s final batter faced, pulled by Kotsay and walking off the mound to a standing ovation from the crowd.