Sun Doesn't Come Up For Morrow, A's Bet Bottom Dollar On Toronto's Defense, Win

They may have had a little help, but the A's finally snapped their streak of offensive futility with a six run, eleven hit attack.

Dallas Braden was magnificent, which has been quite normal since coming off of the DL. He scattered three hits over seven strong innings, allowing one earned run (and another unearned one). Brandon Morrow, still likely reeling from his 137-pitch near no-hitter last week, was decidedly less sharp than advertised, but the difference in team offense quality led to a 2-2 tie.

But the real story of the game was Toronto's defense, which was...let's go with "interesting". With men on 1B and 3B and one out, Jack Cust did the unthinkable and grounded into what should have been an easy double play. Aaron Hill fielded the ball, tagged the runner, and flipped to Lyle Overbay for the third out, only to watch the ball roll away. Jack Cust ended up at second base, and a run scored. Two batters later, Rajai Davis hit an RBI single to LF that Travis Snider somehow managed to toss fifteen feet behind him.

And just to make Toronto feel even worse, Cliff Pennington made a play that will live on highlight reels for quite a while, as he ranged far to his left to make a beautiful throw after a quick spin. Economical, gorgeous, and really impressive—much like the A's tonight.

The A's try to carve out a series win tomorrow afternoon, as LHP Gio Gonzalez faces LHP Marc Rzalphabet.