I've been pressed into last-minute recap pinch-hitting duty, and if you've read The Book and understand the "penalty" for pinch hitting you know this recap will stink. But not as much as the 7th inning, which the A's entered tied 0-0 until Brandon Inge greeted Dallas Braden with a leadoff HR. Then Gerald Laird pushed a bunt that appears to have killed Braden, who went to field it, bobbled it, was visited by trainer Steve Sayles, and left the game. Hopefully, he just needed to throw up. If he didn't need to then, he probably needed to after seeing what Michael Wuertz did with the rest of the 7th inning.
KTRB, perhaps seeing the writing on the wall, decided it would just go ahead and lose the signal entirely in the 5th inning, sparing listeners from hearing the phrase "hanging slider" over and over after Wuertz took over for Braden. It tuernz out that Wuertz was not available last night or over the weekend in So Cal, and tonight's return to action was anything but a success. Detroit's 4-spot in the 7th was more than enough for Justin Verlander, who blanked the A's on two singles through 7 innings before Oakland exploded for so many runs in the 8th that I finally lost count. Most aggravating about Verlander's complete game 4-hit gem? He wouldn't have faced the A's but for the Tigers being rained out earlier this week.
Enjoy the Chris Townsend show, which will be transmitted by carrier pigeons in the absence of a KTRB radio signal.
