Game #80: Semien Homers in A's Loss

Well now, those weren't exactly the fireworks we were anticipating to kick off our holiday weekend, as the A's fall to the Pirates 7-3 after getting off to a 3-0 start.

In the Disney movie "The Hunchback of Notre Dame, there's a song called "Topsy Turvy", which talks about a day where nothing is as it seems; everything is the opposite of how'd you expect.That is exactly how I feel about Sonny Gray. I see his name as the starting pitcher, and I'm still thinking "We got this. Ace on the mound. Start the series right" you know? In this 2016 season, where nothing is as it seems; because the bright spot in all the losses should be your ace, I frankly can't tell a Sonny Gray line from a Surkamp start. Well, completing six innings would have given me pause, but still. Seven runs?

The true bright spot of 2016 is, of course, Marcus Semien and his amazing turnaround defensively and offensively; he did hit his 17th home run of the year as the second batter of the game. Jed Lowrie walked and Semien staked Sonny Gray to a 2-0 lead. A single by Yonder Alonso in the second inning and a double by Lowrie drove in the A's third run, and with a 3-0 lead and Gray on the mound, you had to be feeling pretty good as an A's fan.

And then...SEVEN RUNS!? WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?

It started out innocently enough. A solo home run in the third to cut the lead to 3-1. Okay, no problem, that happens, let's go. And then, in the fourth: A double, a ground-out, two outs, a wild pitch. NOOOOOOOOOOOOO not the wild pitch! Why?! Why?! And it's 3-2. We're still leading; we can do this. Let's go. And we head to the fifth. Single. Single. Single. Game tied. A's offense stagnant. Moral is low. Food and supplies non-existent. A stolen base and a force out score the Pirates' fourth run and it's going to be okay. One run down. We can do this; let's go. Gray retired the first two batters of the sixth. Four runs in six innings? Not that bad. We can do this; let's go. And then, hit by pitch. Wild pitch. Walk. Single. Run. Double. Two Runs. Game over at 7-3.

Siiiiiiiiiigh.

We do it again tomorrow, but this time, we get the return of Rich Hill. Welcome back, YOU have been missed!

Here's to a happy and safe fourth of July! /baseballgirl out