Game #90: A's 5, Red Sox 4
July 13, 2006 | A's @ Boston
We're back! I enjoyed the short break and the chance to pay some attention to my Real Life, but now it's time to get back to baseball.And a win is a nice way to start the second half. But let's qualify that.
Esteban Loaiza lasts only five innings against the Red Sox who're able to hit six times and walk six times in that span. Sigh.
The A's were behind 3-1 until the 7th, when Bobby Kielty drove in two runs on an error by Red Sox second baseman Mark Loretta (I don't know him). We'll take what we can get.
What I found encouraging in this game is our bullpen. The best of them had to pitch tonight: Gaudin, Halsey, Duchscherer, Calero, Street, and Saarloos. (Sauerbeck actually got one out between Street and Saarloos, but I'm still not ready to warm up to him.)
These guys weren't all perfect, but they're largely reliable.
Also, Nick Swisher is back to belting home runs — he hit his 21st tonight. Guess the no-booze zone at the A's clubhouse is working.
(Game experience: Some of the latter innings on radio and TV)
A's record: 46-43 | streak: W-1 | well-A-meter: 3
posted by blank book at 9:49 PM
2 Comments:
You neglected to mention Kielty's stealing second base after driving in the go ahead run in the 11th. Kielty wasn't satisfied with simply driving in a run. He kept up the intensity by stealing second base which allowed him to score on Frank Thomas' single. That was the difference in the game.
generalchiang is right on. What I didn't understand is why the A's weren't running on the Red Sox relievers earlier. After Beltran showed in the All-Star game what could be accomplished by stealing third on an unattentive pitcher, I was stunned to see the A's hover near second while being ignored on two occasions by Red Sox pitchers. If you assume that the stolen base would not have affected the way the inning ultimately unfolded, since neither runner would have scored, then it made no difference. But that's a dangerous assumption. After Beltran stole third, Halladay, one of the two or three best pitchers in baseball, uncorked a wild pitch to let Beltran scored. Why don't our guys learn from that?
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