David Pauley was perfect for 11 batters, but then rather unperfect for the next two. Mark Ellis broke up the perfect game, no-hitter, and shutout with a bomb into the left field seats in the 4th Jack Cust followed with a high drive to left-center that wasn't quite going to make it over the wall, so Michael Saunders gave it a boost and tipped it over for a 2-0 A's lead.
Oakland's next two runs, giving them a 4-1 lead, came courtesy of Chris Carter's third major league homerun in the 5th. When he hits one, he leaves no doubt. It atoned nicely for Carter's defensive gaffe the previous half inning, which put the M's on the board: After taking a circuitous route to a fly ball, Carter unleashed a flop that could qualify as summing up the Mariners' season through interpretive dance.
The A's 5th and final run, in the 8th inning, was a "Rajai Run" in which the A's CFer singled, stole 2nd and 3rd, and flew home on a medium fly ball to Ichiro in RF. The two steals gave Rajai 50 for the season.
The other storyline was Brett Anderson, who threw 122 pitches in 7 innings and required a trip to the mound from Steve Sayles after a soft liner back to the mound startled Anderson, and gave him apparent whiplash as he flopped to the ground in what could qualify as summing up an epileptic moose through interpretive dance.
So basically, there was a lot of dancing. The Mariners lose for the 100th time and the A's move into sole possession of 2nd place with a chance to finish the season at .500 with a win tomorrow.
