It Must Be the Rays Birthday!
by Leopold Bloom on Jul 28, 2011 3:45 PM PDT
Email
Print...because the A's gift-wrapped that one for them.
Staked to a five run lead, with Rich Harden pitching six solid innings, the bullpen imploded, giving up seven runs in the seventh. When the dust had settled (from where the bullpen used to stand), the Rays avoid the sweep by coming back on the A's, 10-8.
It was an ugly loss, especially considering how fun and unique it started. Mixed into the first inning's five runs was a single, double, triple and home run, in order by (respectively) Hideki Matsui, Josh Willingham, David DeJesus, and Conor Jackson. This is the first time this has ever happened in Oakland A's history.
Their six straight hits however were no match for the Rays' five hit, three walk, one wild pitch seventh. Craig Breslow, Brad Ziegler and Brian Fuentes combined to provide the Rays their seven runs in exchange for three outs. Poor trade, guys.
I'd say Breslow, Ziegler and Fuentes owe the team an apology. That should have been a W in every way. Instead, the A's snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Woo.
Positives:
- Our offense has been on fire since the ASB. Cliff Pennington extended his hitting streak to 12 games. Matsui continues to look good, as does Conor. Heck, all of them look pretty good!
- Harden again pitched a very solid game. The ball was leaving the park quickly today, and Harden made one mistake in the sixth, giving up a two-run home run to Desmond Jennings. But he only allowed three hits and walked two while striking out seven.
- Kurt Suzuki had a great day. Two runners thrown out and a home run.
- They did not quit when the offense imploded. Suzuki hit a home run in the bottom of seventh and station-to-station A's got them another in the bottom of the eighth--Matsui essentially created it by running on Willingham's single. Ryan Sweeney doubled off Farnsworth in the ninth and was driven in by a Scott Sizemore single. The A's had the tying run come up to bat, which, given how crushing the top of the seventh was, is pretty impressive.
- Both Sizemore and Sweeney made impressive plays in the field today.
- Jennings for the Rays is fun to watch. He's a good player.
Current Series
Athletics win the series 3-0
| Mon 07/25 | WP: Brian Fuentes (2 - 8) SV: Andrew Bailey LP: J.P. Howell (2 - 2) |
7 - 5 win |
| Tue 07/26 | WP: Brandon McCarthy (3 - 5) LP: David Price (9 - 9) |
6 - 1 win |
| Wed 07/27 | WP: Trevor Cahill (9 - 9) LP: James Shields (9 - 9) |
13 - 4 win |
|
Minnesota Twins Friday, Jul 29, 2011, 7:05 PM PDT Francisco Liriano vs Gio Gonzalez Clear. Winds blowing out to right field at 10-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 75.
|
||
43 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Disappointing. Song for Today: Once in A Lifetime- Talking Heads
Same as it ever was.
by player20 on Jul 28, 2011 3:53 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
Woah.
This is shocking, because I’ve listened to that song about 400 times in the last 4 days. Coincidences are about!
"I think what baseball projects, and what classical music needs, is the sense that one goes to a live event not to experience greatness, but to experience the possibility of greatness.... Not every game is great but what we go for is the chance that this particular game might be.' —David Lang
by King Richard on Jul 29, 2011 9:28 AM PDT up reply actions
GREAT recap, SH*T game
esp. the middle part
"If we start getting into that sh*t, we might as well get out the plastic sheeting and have an orgy." --Gaijin Suketto
A
The FairWeather Channel - Sports Bumper Stickers and Bandwagon Forecast
by Hit4TheCycle on Jul 28, 2011 4:05 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
A's
Still raising the Runs Roof.
Both ways apparently.
The FairWeather Channel - Sports Bumper Stickers and Bandwagon Forecast
Baseball gods obviously don't like us
by oaklanda'sfannotsj on Jul 28, 2011 4:16 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
Not since 06. But especially the last 2 years.
by player20 on Jul 28, 2011 4:19 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
I dunno. Last year, they seemed to mildly like us...
which is why this year has sucked so bad.
by Leopold Bloom on Jul 28, 2011 5:04 PM PDT up reply actions
SF winning wasn't so bad
after the last game, you could get a contact high walking down Union Street.
With all due respect
Phuck SF and their bandwagon entitist fans
"The Few, The Proud, The A's Fan" - UncleLeo
I'm ok with this result.
Yeah the game got off to a promising start, but we still took three out of four in the series, convincingly beat the Rays’ two best pitchers and, even in the loss, showed that the offense is still surging.
Brian Fuentes
Ziegler, Wuertz and Breslow have their up and down days (Wuertz more down than up) but Fuentes is awful. I know that Breslow should have been able to finish the inning; that Ziegler allowed five men to reach base, but it was Fuentes who let everyone score.
is it too early to trade Fuentes?
or at least put him on the DL
Nah. Small sample size. It's still early
by player20 on Jul 28, 2011 11:11 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
That's how bad he was:
He faced three batters and five reached.
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
I scanned the box score
Got disgusted, wrote my post. But really, he faced three batters and five reached.
If you told me Mon that we would win 3 of 4, I would definitely have taken it.
But we were in spectacular shape to take all four! Sweep the Twins. Someone must pay.
by player20 on Jul 28, 2011 6:09 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions 1 recs
Rivercats update (4th inning):
Chris Carter 2 for 2 with a triple (!) and a BB.
Michael Taylor 1 for 2 with a BB.
So that’s good.
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
good news!
My mannerism a prism/ And it should shine
Light it if you would/ Be so kind, right now'd
Be A' Good Time
by DaRubiesSLOKingsA's on Jul 29, 2011 9:38 AM PDT up reply actions
At a time when we are probably trying to showcase and shop our bullpen guys...
….having them all get lit up like that on the same day is pretty unsatisfying.
"Check out our guy Breslow! ...
…Um … See, he’s not as bad as Ziegler!"
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
Fuentes for Irabu
bad taste. I know. I know.
Why Is Breslow still on the team
Lefty’s are hitting .400 off of him- what does he bring to the table?
"The Few, The Proud, The A's Fan" - UncleLeo
I hope we keep the boys intact, at least through tomorrow night
Or maybe add someone! (OK, not going to happen most likely.) See you at the game!
Hey dad, I got this guy's autograph, Rollie
Fingers. Who's he?
This One Hurt
A game that we should have won, lost. I cannot believe that the bullpen imploded in the seventh, completely erasing our lead. Bad time for all of them to lose control at the same time. Still, it seemed to me that Ziegler got stiffed on that 2-2 slider to Fuld. Should it have been strike 3?
Harden pitched well; 6 innings, 2 runs, but I knew he wasn’t going to pitch into the seventh, especially after the 2-run homerun to Jennings.
However, where was the offense? After the 5-run first, we got no-hit by Davis it took until the late innings for us to score again. Albeit, it was a nice rally.
I suppose the encouraging thing about this one was the the A’s were gritty and never gave up.
Minus the BP implosion in the 7th, it was a great game.
Great hitting, good defense, great fighting spirit. The last point is especially important. That 7 run 7th could be demoralizing, but they kept chipping away with good hits, running, and a Suzuki homer. They could have folded meekly, but they didn’t. They even made it interesting in the 9th.
As for the BP implosion – always bound to happen. Breslow is inconsistent, Ziggy is usually solid (and he inherited runners) but can have an off day, and Fuentes is crap, unless used is the exact right way.
I’m bummed about the loss. But I’m stoked about the hitting, Harden’s solid start, and the fighting spirit.
This team seems to believe in itself. A BP implosion like yesterday’s game is an extreme rarity. Things are looking up.
I don’t expect this team to contend – they dug too deep a hole. But you never know. At the very least, I’m looking forward to more entertaining and exciting baseball from the Oakland Athletics.
So how do you explain the previous three games?
I think it’s more, “Sometimes even good bullpens implode, which sucks when it happens but hey.”
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
rawr
The Ray’s BP almost imploded right back at us, so it happens.
But wow, just wack.
by MobiusKlein on Jul 29, 2011 10:12 AM PDT up reply actions
Of Course,
In our case it sucks even more since this year has been far from easy, and we’ve had multiple problems.
by Jason James on Jul 29, 2011 10:24 AM PDT up reply actions
Another day
another loss. Well, at least they took 3 of 4.
Well that sucked
still recovering from having my heart ripped open yesterday. Rationally, though, this hitting tear makes it more likely that BB might get someone decent for JW, Coco, Harden, or perhaps even Matsui. It’s hard to feel real happy as sellers at the deadline again though.
NEW POST UP
It’s all about…the trade deadline!!! (How original)
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
Maybe
A more appropriate phrase would be that good teams figure out ways to win games they have no right winning. Losing teams like the A’s lose games they have no right losing.
Basic premise is that bullpen has been a strength and last group you’d expect to self-destruct. It’s great that A’s are hitting really well now. But, the trend over the past couple years has been the hitting usually sucks and pitching is usually awesome. Then the hitting picks up, the pitching goes in the tank. The opposite was true of good A’s teams.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Athletics Nation
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
Baseball Nation Recent Stories
In Association With
Big League Stew - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
- Barry Bonds thinks it will be ‘very sad’ if he doesn’t get into the Hall on his first try
- Chris Johnson’s glove webbing had a Spidey sense at Coors Field — for one play, at least
- Jonathan Lucroy breaks hand after suitcase falls during search for sock
- The Juice: Long Adam Dunn homer punctuates Chris Sale’s 15 Ks, Mark Trumbo goes deep after Jered Weaver goes down for Angels
- Leyland begs media to make umpires ‘accountable’ for bad calls (VIDEO)
