So it’s official then – the Oakland Athletics won’t be winning the AL West, despite their torrid start to the year. I think we all kind of knew deep down that the A’s weren’t going to completely run away with the AL West, after all, they never had a lead of more than six games. But I don’t think any of us could have foreseen a stretch in which they went 17-27 (and counting) in August and September while only getting outscored by eight runs over those 44 games. I don’t think that any of us we have imagined that the A’s would go from 72-44 to 83-68, a disgusting 11-24 stretch, in the span of little over a month. I don’t think that any of us expected to see the Athletics somehow lose eight of their last ten one-run games. But some how, some way, all of that happened, and here we are. If the A’s want to make a deep playoff run this year, they’re going to have to go through the Wild Card game and travel to either Anaheim or Baltimore to do it. I don’t think any of us imagined that would be the case six weeks ago.
Game of the Night: Rangers 6, Athletics 1. Let’s kick the A’s fans while they’re down, shall we? Jeff Samardzija left the Rangers offense as a smoldering crater when he left the game after eight innings in this one, with his club leading 1-0. Sean Doolittle took the hill for the save, and completely and utterly imploded like we’ve never seen from Doolittle before. After getting Leonys Martin to fly out to start the ninth, Doolittle allowed five straight baserunners. Elvis Andrus singled. Rougned Odor doubled him in to tie the game at one. Doolittle intentionally walked Adrian Beltre. J.P. Arencibia launched a go-ahead three-run homer to give Texas a 4-1 lead. Doolittle walked Robinson Chirinos, marking the first time he had walked two batters in an inning since August 31st…2013. Bob Melvin pulled Doolittle and replaced him with Jesse Chavez, who gave up singles to the first pair of batters he faced before striking out Daniel Robertson for the second out. Fernando Abad replaced him, and hit Martin to bring another run in and make it 5-1. Andrus reached on an infield single to score ANOTHER run and make it 6-1 before Odor flew out to end the inning. Robbie Ross set the A’s offense down in order in the bottom of the ninth, and the dream of a third straight AL West title for the Athletics was dashed.
Pitching Lines of the Night: Carlos Carrasco laid waste to the Astros in Cleveland’s 2-0 win, throwing a two-hit, complete game shutout, striking out 12 and walking one. Poor Jeff Samardzija allowed four hits over eight shutout innings for the Athletics, striking out ten without a walk. He got a no decision. C.J. Wilson allowed one hit over seven shutout innings in Anaheim’s 5-0 win over Seattle, striking out seven and walking three. Adam Wainwright also threw a complete game shutout in the Cardinals’ 2-0 win over the Brewers, giving up seven hits, walking a pair, and striking out seven. Mike Fiers allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits in seven innings for Milwaukee in the loss, striking out seven and walking two. In Kansas City’s 6-2 win over the White Sox, Yordano Ventura allowed one run on three hits in seven innings, striking out seven and walking two. The Rockies embarrassed the Dodgers 16-2, and Jorge de la Rosa allowed two hits in six shutout innings, walking two and striking out three.
Hitting Lines of the Night: In the Rockies’ slaughter of the Dodgers, Charlie Blackmon went 5/5 with a homer, four runs, and two RBI, while Justin Morneau went 3/4 with a double, a homer, two runs, and six RBI. The Orioles stayed hot, beating the Blue Jays 6-1, and Steve Pearce went 2/3 with two homers, four RBI, and a walk. Danny Santana went 3/5 with a double, a triple, three runs, and two RBI in Minnesota’s 8-4 win over Detroit. In Pittsburgh’s 9-1 win over Boston, Ike Davis went 2/4 with a double, a homer, two runs, and three RBI. Lorenzo Cain went 3/5 with a three-run homer for the Royals in their win over the White Sox.
Other Games: The Giants doubled up the Diamondbacks 4-2. The Braves stopped Washington’s attempt at a sweep, winning 3-1. The Yankees edged the Rays 3-2. The Marlins defeated the Mets 4-3. The Cubs shut down the Reds 3-1, ending Cincinnati’s slim hopes at a playoff berth. The Phillies defeated the Padres 5-2, but were still eliminated from the playoff race.
Today’s Games: Sonny Gray and the A’s host the Rangers. Gerrit Cole and the Pirates take on the Red Sox. R.A. Dickey gets the nod for the Blue Jays in the Bronx. Doug Fister starts for the Nationals in Miami. Zack Greinke and the Dodgers take on the Cubs. Kyle Lohse and Shelby Miller face off in St. Louis. Felix Hernandez starts for the Mariners in Anaheim against Jered Weaver and the Angels.
National TV: Rangers-Athletics (3:30 PM, MLB Network), Brewers-Cardinals (8 PM, MLB Network), Dodgers-Cubs (8 PM, MLB Network)
Enjoy your day of baseball, everyone.
