A’s Waste Opportunities, But Walk-Off Anyway Against White Sox
By Eric He
Jun 1, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics infielder Jed Lowrie (8) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a run against the Chicago White Sox in the first inning at O.Co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
The Oakland A’s could have walked-off against the Chicago White Sox in so many different ways. Baserunners were all over the place from the eighth inning on, and you could feel that a walk-off home run was coming.
Instead, they chose to win it on a bases-loaded walk by Josh Reddick in the bottom of the tenth. Hector Santiago had pitched around multiple jams, but was wild in his duel with Reddick and a pitch that missed the strike zone gave the A’s the 4-3 victory.
Opportunities were galore for the A’s in the late frames, with the game tied 3-3. In the eighth, they had runners on second and third with two out, but Jesse Crain struck out Yoenis Cespedes with a fastball at 94 MPH. In the ninth, they had an even better chance, when they were gifted with the bases loaded and nobody out after the White Sox failed to field a Josh Reddick bunt. However, Hector Santiago induced Derek Norris to hit into a double play that went from the third baseman to the catcher to first base, then Eric Sogard struck out to end the inning.
Starting pitcher Dan Straily was phenomenal once again, continuing his hot streak by allowing just one run in six innings whiles striking out eight batters. He has a minute 0.95 ERA over his last three starts, giving up two earned runs over 19 innings.
On a day where fans received free Yoenis Cespedes jerseys, the player himself delivered with an RBI double in the first to put the A’s in front early. Cespedes drilled it between the outfielder in right center field, and Jed Lowrie was able to motor around from first base and score.
Chris Young plated Oakland’s second run with a clutch two-out bloop single over the glove of Jeff Keppinger and into center field. That scored Derek Norris, but just as important, it snapped an 0-for-19 streak for Young.
The White Sox, however, got both runs back in a flurry after Straily departed. Down 3-1 in the seventh, they knocked around the nearly-unhittable Sean Doolittle. With one out, Keppinger singled, Hector Gimenez doubled, and Alejandro De Aza knocked them both in with a hit to center field.
Just like that, the game was tied. Despite his fantastic start to the season, Doolittle may be a little worn out at the moment, as he has allowed four runs in his last two innings of work.
In the end, it was yet another walk-off for the A’s, who are 4-1 in extra innings this season. They are now a season-best nine games over .500, and are just two games back of the Rangers for first place in the AL West.