What a fantastic night for Mark Ellis. A loud home run, a key double...not to mention a nice play to start off Calero's closing opportunity.
The A's have now won five in a row and 10 of their last 12. And they're doing it in a very key time against teams that are all right there. The sweep of Seattle was huge to put them 6.5 back and now the A's have pushed the Rangers 5.5 back. They are also 10 games over .500.
The A's need some production from their middle infielders and Scutaro has been providing it in Crosby's abscence. If Ellis can start to turn it around, the A's suddenly have an amazing offense. The team is 45-8 when they score five or more runs this year. That speaks volumes about their pitching.
Also, Milton Bradley has been just fantastic. Let's hope that Frank Thomas didn't have anything major happen to him because they could ill afford to lose his bat.
And finally, good for Esteban Loaiza to pitch well two starts in a row. Granted he got quite a bit of help on one of the most amazing plays I've ever seen from Chavez on the double play and a huge assist from Kendall's courage in blocking the plate, but he pitched well in two very important game. And the guy who Billy Beane as an innings eater when he signed him finally actually ate some innings against a tough, tough lineup.
Let's hope Komine has a nice encore performance tomorrow. Now, go watch the Best Damn Sports Show Period since Swisher and Chavez are featured. Try and ignore the tool know as Chris Rose though.
