Straight
from the “it was a long week” department, I now have the distinct pleasure (or
the complete opposite) of providing a summary paragraph of the A’s four game
series that just past with the Rangers as we go into tonight’s game vs. the
Mariners. By now, you are well aware
that the A’s and Rangers split the series at two wins apiece, signaling that
the team made no ground in the divisional race.
However, the glass half full approach would say that the team didn’t
lose ground either. While this series
was going on, the Angels won two out of three against our opponent tonight and
they are now two games behind us for the last wild card spot (with Tampa).
The
best one word descriptor I can come up with for the series against the Rangers
is “uncomfortable” because that’s how I felt throughout most of it. Game 1 was
infuriating and felt like a game that the A’s gave away. Milone and Parker pitched great in games 2
and 3 respectively (both wins) and it felt like momentum was on our side. Then yesterday’s afternoon game took place. When the A’s score 7 runs and lose, you know
it was a difficult game to watch. They
fought back a few times, only to see the pitching staff give it right back in
the next inning (or two). Let’s just
move on before I start whining.
In
the good news department, Coco is apparently going to be back in the lineup
tonight. Would you like some more good
news? The Mariners are in town and we
are avoiding King Felix. The A’s must sweep this series in my
opinion. Not to make the playoffs per se,
but from a confidence perspective. We
need to beat up the M’s this weekend and carry over some of that when Texas
comes to visit Oakland to close out the season.
According to this article, the A’s
own the tiebreaker against the Angels and that isn’t going to change. The A’s and Rangers are tied head-to-head at
8 wins apiece right now. So … if the
Angels take a few from the Rangers while the A’s sweep … you know what, forget
it. I won’t go any further. Let’s enjoy tonight’s game and just take care
of our own business. Please and thank
you.
10:01pm
EST: We’re (not really) live as MLB.TV has yet to turn on the broadcast. Someone flip the switch! In the meantime, I made a terrible mistake –
just click here and know that
I’m kicking myself for even peaking.
10:02
– We’re live and I have to admit that I was expecting more from Glen for the
introduction. Where’s the conviction?!
10:03
– The Orioles are still amazing / baffling to me. Unrelated, Coco’s back and it is time to go
back to the Bernie Lean! By the way, my
nerves are shot and I have the Angels/Rangers game going on my tablet (Google
Nexus 7 – go get one!) at the same time.
10:10
– Griffin K’s the Mariners leadoff hitter!
How many times can or will I type “Let’s go Oakland!!” tonight?
10:12
– Moss catches a foul ball pop up and we have two down. I’m a little surprised at how quiet the
Coliseum is right now. Hopefully the
offense can get things going early.
10:13
– Griffin’s no hitter is gone thanks to Seager.
The Angels go up 6-1 against the Rangers around the same time (just
noticed out of the corner of my eye).
10:15
– Griffin walks Montero and we have 1st and 2nd. Let’s end this. Now!
10:17
– Jaso flies out and we’re going to the bottom of the 1st. Well done.
10:19
– The Angels are blowing open the game in Texas. 7-1 Angels … and I can never figure out who
to root for when these teams play.
10:20
– There we go, the Bernie Lean gets things going with Coco coming up to the
plate. As an added bonus, CSN shows it
from the get-go.
10:21
– Here comes the crowd! Cowbells, drums,
3-1 … and now 3-2 count to Coco.
10:22
– Coco!!!! Crisp!!!! Home … run!!!
Let’s go Oakland!
10:24
– Stephen Drew drives the ball to the wall and it’s caught. So close!
10:25
– Cespedes drives the ball right at the right fielder. Two outs but everyone is making good
contact.
10:30
– Seager makes a nice play to catch Redick’s foul ball and that ends the
inning. By the way, I failed to mention
in the opening paragraphs that Redick broke his 0-for slump yesterday in Texas
with two HR’s. Hopefully that bat stays
alive over the course of the next week.
10:33
– Phew, Smoak just misses a HR as the ball carries foul. That ball was crushed. Come with the curveball.
10:34
– Smoak flies out on the next pitch.
10:37
– Another opportunity for a shutdown inning and the A’s fail at it. HR by Robinson ties the game at 1.
10:39
– Groundout to end the inning but the damage is done.
10:41
– MLB.TV just went down on both feeds and came back on one source with grainy
video from Oakland. Oh boy, I really
have enjoyed the service this year. They
couldn’t come up with a worse time to really strike a nerve.
10:46
– The A’s go down in order and my connection on MLB.TV is less than superb
right now.
10:50
– I only know that the A’s got through the inning because I have switched over
to the radio broadcast. #Firstworldproblems
… and really, really annoyed.
10:54
– Pennington leads off the inning with a hit.
The TV portion of MLB.TV is about 2 minutes behind the radio broadcast
right now. Annoying, but I’m going with
the TV version and staying off Twitter.
10:57
– Stephen Drew gets that one over the wall, 3-1 A’s!
11:01
– Moss grounds out to end the inning.
Scoreboard alert – Beltre hit another HR to bring the Rangers to within
three, 7-4 in the 8th.
11:06
– Moss makes a nice play at 1st to turn a double play to end the
inning! We’re on to the bottom of the 4th.
11:09
– Redick smacks a ball to RF but Wells makes a nice play/catch. 1 out
11:15
– Smith strikes out to end the inning, with the A’s still on top 3-1.
11:22
– It’s a final from Texas, Angels win 7-4.
Three words: Let’s go Oakland!
11:23
– With a little help from the home plate umpire, Griffin strikes out two more and
we go to the bottom of the 5th.
11:31
– Coco with another hit, this one with 2 outs.
The bad news, I just saw a reported attendance of 16,376. Hopefully everyone in the area is prepping
for a weekend at the stadium?!
11:36
– After a Drew walk, Cespedes hits a rocket to SS and we have bases
loaded. Seriously, what percentage of
the time does the ball fly off of Cespedes’ bat? He’s going to become one of the most exciting
players in the game to watch over the next couple of years.
11:39
– Coco scores on a wild pitch from Oliver Perez, who was “adored” by the local
media here during his time with the Mets.
Nice to see things haven’t changed much.
11:40
– Moss shatters his bat but winds up grounding out. 4-1 A’s as we go to the 6th.
11:45
– Griffin’s given up a hit, a wild pitch, and now a walk to start off the 6th. Let’s fix this immediately and get someone up
in the bullpen just in case.
11:47
– Seager strikes out on three pitches, all of which were out of the strike zone. Thanks
11:51
– Jaso gets hit on the hand and barely reacts to it. How is that possible? In any case, with two outs and the bases now
loaded, Doolittle is replacing Griffin.
Nice outing from Griffin, but he’s going to need a large helping hand right
now.
11:55
– Doolittle gets Smoak to fly out to end the inning. 4-1 A’s still. Phew.
11:59
– Redick leads off the inning with a hit.
He’s out of his slump, right?
12:07
– A’s go down quickly and quietly after Redick’s leadoff hit. We’re going to the 7th, 4-1 A’s.
12:10
– Saunders takes the first pitch deep against Doolittle, 4-2 A’s. Doolittle seems to be coming back to earth a
little over the past few weeks. He needs
to be the reliable left arm in the bullpen.
12:16
– After the leadoff HR, Doolittle puts the Mariners down quickly. 7th inning stretch time
12:22
– A’s are looking to pad the score here a bit.
Pennington walks, gets to second on a wild pitch, and is followed by
Coco’s infield single.
12:26
– Drew walks to bring up Cespedes with the bases loaded and no outs. Before that happens, we have another pitching
change.
12:33
– Cespedes walks after a number of pitches and the A’s force in a run. 5-2
12:36
– A’s get a gift run on a terrible throw home from the M’s second baseman. 6-2 A’s.
12:37
– Donaldson shoots one right up the middle and the A’s score two more! Game over?
8-2 A’s
12:49
– Cespedes lays out to make the catch in an 8-2 game? Yes.
That should inspire the entire dugout.
12:57
– A’s go down quickly and quietly in the bottom of the 8th. We go to the 9th …
1:01 –
Jim Miller is in to pitch the top of the 9th. This may make or break Miller’s time with the
A’s and whether or not Melvin goes to him anymore. Smoak gets a leadoff single.
1:03 –
Cook is up in the bullpen again, as Miller goes 3-0 to the second straight
batter. Miller walks him two pitches
later.
1:06 –
Robinson strikes out again and probably should have been tossed for arguing
again. 1 out
1:07 –
Moss makes a nice play on a foul ball. 2
outs
1:08 –
Another foul out and the A’s win! 3 back
of Texas and they remain 2 ahead of the Angels.
Let’s go Oakland!
I’m
going with the returning Coco Crisp as the player of the game!
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