As the Angels and Rangers trade beatings on one another and the A's keep winning, two things keep changing: Who is in second place and how far back they are. Yesterday it was the Rangers, 2.5 games behind the A's. Now it's the Angels and the spread is 3 games. Winning does wonders for your place in the standings, and for whatever reason, the Mariners do wonders for the A's ability to win.
This wasn't a game to put on the ol' resume, mind you. The A's were still stuck on 4 runs when they got their 17th baserunner. They didn't drive in any of the 57 baserunners had on after the second inning. They were stymied by something called a Jake Woods. And Milton Bradley really needs to invest in better quality bats. Seriously, Milton, we love you but I'm not even convinced you're using wood--I've taken batting practice with nothing but a box of Lorna Doone cookies and they didn't shatter as often.
Anyway, you won't often get away with failing to deliver a knockout punch time and time again, but against the Mariners whatever the A's do it always seems to turn out to be enough. And today, that was clutch hitting with two outs in the second inning and a third consecutive gem by Danny Haren. No team has ever won more than 16 straight games head-to-head, but the A's sudden ownage of Seattle has now hit 11 in a row...and counting...
