Despite a ninth-inning mini-rally that was the very definition of "too little, too late", there isn't a lot to say about tonight's game, except that the A's seem to like Nico's birthday every bit as much as they like mine.
Let's start with the BA/OBP/SLG for the starting lineup tonight:
Kurt Suzuki .275 .322 .386
Jack Cust .228 .314 .424
Matt Holliday .270 .368 .422
Jason Giambi .206 .346 .391
Orlando Cabrera .244 .289 .314
Bobby Crosby .192 .292 .313
Rajai Davis .240 .302 .320
Jack Hannahan .191 .272 .310
The A's had three hits (a single, a double, and a triple) in four batters to start the game (from the only hitters within the zip code of decent MLB numbers) and they managed to score only a single run. Randy Johnson struck out the side in between the hits, setting the tone for the rest of the game.
That would be the entire offensive story of the night save for a token homerun by Suzuki in the eighth and a pinch-hit double by Nomar in the ninth, scoring Rajai Davis, who walked with two outs.
Based on the run support, and the usual A's non-supportive defense, it didn't really matter what Gio Gonzalez did tonight unless he tossed a shutout, but in case you were wondering, he was actually pulled in the fourth after allowing ten hits and four earned runs, walking two, and striking out six.
Amnesiac summed it up for A's fans tonight:
Sticking around tonight reminds me...
...of an office christmas party. You know the kind where the DJ is playing and almost everyone has left and the only people still around are the bosses, a few who are trying to sober up, and the ones making out in the corner.
I'm sure the non-Giants fans at the Coliseum tonight felt the exact same way. Another game, another loss, another series loss, and the next games the A's will play will be against the hottest team in Major League Baseball, the Rockies, starting Friday night.
Maybe the off-day will be magical.
