Fine. I give up. There is absolutely a difference between hitting with the bases empty and hitting with RISP, and this team consistently proves it every single day. Yes, the large majority of our hitters can’t hit anyway, but they are beyond awful with runners in scoring position, even in cases where they don’t even need a hit to score a run!
Oh, wait. That was the paragraph I wrote in case the A’s lost. Oh...wait...it’s still applicable.
Despite the A’s offense’s valiant effort to keep their total runs scored under 4, the A’s pitching staff--from Braden’s excellent start to Embree’s big boy save--managed to make three meager runs hold up all the way to the win. Despite both teams putting runners all over the place today, the difference in the game was a solo (is there any other kind?) homerun.
Embree had one of his best performances of the season, coming in to clean up with the bases loaded and less than two outs, and not only got out of the eighth unscored upon, after the Tigers did their best impression of the A’s offense, but also squeaked through the ninth as well. The game should be worth three saves, and three wins. We’d be caught up in no time.
This is one of those great wins that would have been an absolute maddening loss, but I’m not worried--the A’s picked up the series win. Bye bye Detroit! Be sure to pick up a stuffed elephant on your way out!
