In the heat of a tight pennant race, McAfee Coliseum was "filled" with fewer than 15,000 fans who opted to show up for a mid-week day game. But the A's offense and outstanding pitching didn't seem to make it.
After Joe Kennedy slogged through 3 1/3 innings, throwing 86 pitches, Macha sent in Juan Cruz in the 4th with two runners on and an opportunity to improve his numbers on the season. Both inherited runners scored, extending what was a 4-0 lead to a 6-0 gap, a score this year's A's have shown a hard time reaching.
When the A's bats did wake up, on the back of a 3-run fifth, Cruz and the Twins countered with two more in the top of the 6th, making the game 8-3 at that point. For those in the stands, it seemed the A's played without the intensity needed to compete in a playoff race, as the Twins coasted to victory.
Highlights to take away from this game were the re-appearance of a healthy Bobby Crosby, who had a single and later scored, and an eighth-inning home run by Mark Ellis who continued his red-hot September. But the A's simply couldn't stop the Twins' Michael Cuddyer, who started the scoring off with a home run, and followed with three doubles, in a 4-4 game for him.
Against the A's this year, in 9 games, Cuddyer has 5 home runs. In 106 games against the rest of the league, he has 7.
The team has an off day tomorrow before facing Texas Friday. AN hopes they rest up and get their energy back to make a charge toward first.
