1 for 10. That explains the A’s 5-4 loss to the Mariners Friday night in the A’s home opener. 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position. 0 for 4 with 2 sac flies with the bases loaded. Opportunities abounded for the Athletics over the first 6 innings but the lack of clutch hitting doomed their chances.
21 year-old Brett Anderson made his Major League debut and for 5 of 6 innings pitched, was completely in control. But in the 2nd frame, the rookie lefty allowed 5 runs on 5 hits and a walk. He was able to halt damage in the inning by inducing Franklin Gutierrez to ground into a double play. Outside of the 2nd inning, Anderson retired 12 of the 15 batters he faced. He also showed the calmness and maturity that has been his trademark.
Here is a rundown on how the A’s offense failed in the clutch:
1st inning: Runners on 1st and 3rd with 1 out – Chavez popped out, Garciaparra flied out
2nd inning: 1st and 3rd with no outs – Ellis popped out, Sweeney walked, Cabrera Sac Fly, Giambi Walked, Holliday ground out
4th inning: Bases Loaded with 1 out – Holliday fouled out, Chavez grounded out
In the 6th inning the A’s got their only hit with runners in scoring position, a Holliday RBI double but they still left the bases loaded. Overall the A’s left 14 runners on base.
A frustrating loss for the A’s but it’s the third straight game the offense has supplied base runner after base runner. As long as that continues runs will come. Oakland also received good starting pitching, sure the 5-run inning wasn’t good, but overall an acceptable performance. Also the A’s are still looking for their first homer of the season.
Saturday afternoon the A’s face a huge challenge as they go against the hard throwing King Felix,Felix Hernandez. The A’s with counter with lefty Josh Outman in his first start of the season.
Topics: Brett Anderson
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I was there. It was painful. As you said, you can’t fault Anderson. He was great 83% of the time. He’ll learn from it and avoid the big innings in the future.
The memorial celebration for the four slain Oakland Police officers was very moving. I had a tear in my eye looking at the caps on the pitching rubber. Horrible reason for the occasion, which was so tastefully done by the A’s. Also, the mention of Nick Adenhart’s death–anything more would have taken away from the OPD memorial.
Bobby Crosby just booted one at third base. Bring back Jack Hannahan–oh, year, there is the problem of Crosby’s salary–at least Jack would have made that play. Now we’re down by 2. Bummer.