Game #160: Valencia's Home Run Lifts A's over Mariners

Hey, a solid win! Aaron Brooks pitched well tonight, Danny Valencia hit a home run that hasn't landed yet, and the A's notched a win over the Mariners in the meaningless AL West game of the night. Meanwhile, in the one for all the marbles, the Angels beat Texas 2-1 (and it's wasn't because Texas didn't play their starters; they played all of them, kudos to them!) and Houston is currently up 21-3. That is neither a typo nor a football score.

Singles by Fuld and Burns and a whole lot of throwing the ball wildly by the Mariners led to the A's first run in the third, and back-to-back-to-back singles by Valencia, Vogt, and Butler loaded the bases in the fourth. Lawrie grounded out to score the A's second run. A home run and a RBI single in the fifth tied the game for the Mariners, but an absolute bomb by Valencia following a single by Reddick put the A's up 4-2; a lead they would never relinquish.

Doolittle recorded a save, and Eric Sogard made a pretty great bare-handed play in the infield during the game.

And we got a win! The next two days should be interesting, not so much for us, but for others, as we closely watch these races.