Game #86: A's 7, Angels 5

July 6, 2006 | A's vs. Los Angeles?/Anaheim?

Walk-off home run!

It was cold, the Coliseum was more than half-empty, game's tied at 5-5, and Dave, who came with me to the game, didn't want to sit through extra innings. Frank Thomas launches the two-out, 3-0 pitch from Scot Shields into the stands at left center field, gets mobbed at home plate, and everyone goes home happy. (Well, except for the 50 or so Angels fans there.)

• There were seven home runs in this game:

1. Juan Rivera from Esteban Loaiza at top of the 2nd
2. Vladimir Guerrero from Loaiza at top of the 4th
3. Juan Rivera again from Loaiza again still at the top of the 4th
4. Dan Johnson from Kelvim Escobar at the bottom of the 4th
5. Nick Swisher also from Escobar also at the bottom of the 4th
6. Mike Napoli from Loaiza at the top of the 6th
7. Frank Thomas from Scot Shields at the bottom of the 9th

I thought the Home Run Derby didn't start till next week.

• So I'm not sure what to make of Loaiza. He only lasted 5.1 innings and gave up eight hits (four of which were homers). Definitely a mediocre start. He went 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA in his first two starts, but we have yet to see if he can string together three good starts in a row. And yet I don't feel like we're better off without him.

Guess I'm just spoiled from the Big Three years, when merely seeing Hudson, Mulder or Zito on the mound made me feel like we were going to win. At this moment, only Zito and Dan Haren give me that sense of security. By the way, Mulder's still on the DL and Huddy has lost his last four starts and got a no decision tonight.

• At the bottom of the first, Jay Payton hits a foul pop up. It goes so high in the air that Angels first baseman Kendry Morales has plenty of time to get under it and he stands there with his glove in the air, waiting, waiting. The crowd of A's fans around me has deflated. We're all waiting for the ball to drop into Morales's glove. At the last second, Dave yells, "DROP IT!" and, on cue, the ball falls behind Morales and rolls on the grass. "It worked!" I kept saying in amazement. Morales gets an error. On the next pitch, Payton hits a two-run single.

• Another favorite Payton play this evening: he grounds to second, but hustles to first base anyway. Escobar gets tossed the ball and it's a foot race to first, with Escobar closer. Somehow Payton sort of leaps and I clearly see his foot hit the bag before Escobar can touch it. SAFE!

Swisher is now at third, then Crosby strikes out and the inning is shot. Sheez, Bobby.

• Mark Kotsay is ever dependable in the outfield, but as a batter he goes 0-for-five tonight. At one point, he hits the ball to left center and it hangs in the air for a moment. But it's just another fly ball.

"So close and yet so far," says the woman seated in front of me. I think, "Shouldn't it be, 'So close and yet so near'?"

• I was pleasantly surprised to run into my dear old friend Eric who's a Giants fan. "What are you doing here?" He was at the game with his girlfriend, an A's fan.


(Game experience: Sec 115 Row 23 Seat 14. Amazing seats! I do believe this is the closest I've ever sat to home plate. The folks in front of me and to my right were oldtimers — someone was wearing a radio, another had a personal seat cushion, the usher was familiar with an older man. And they were all quiet, unruffled, and rather still. I loved sitting next to them!

Here's a confession though. When Dave said he didn't want to stay for any extra innings, I looked at the clock and it was 9:30 PM. So when we finished the top of the 9th and it was 9:42, I said, "Okay, let's go." We listened to the bottom of the 9th on the radio while exiting. Yes, sacrilege, I know. I think this might be the first time since October 2000 that I left the Coliseum before the game ended. On the other hand, this was my first time to experience crossing an empty BART bridge at night. )

A's record: 45-40 | streak: W-1 | well-A-meter: 3