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09-02-2006, 09:19 AM
Melvin must be kicking himself.
Athletics 5, Orioles 4
A's rally on error, homer to top O's
Mora goes from hero to goat as 2-out error precedes Thomas hit
By Jeff Zrebiec
Sun Reporter
Originally published September 2, 2006
OAKLAND, Calif. // Melvin Mora watched Frank Thomas' two-run homer off Todd Williams clang into the left-field seats at McAfee Coliseum. He stood motionless for a moment and then stomped around the left side of the infield with his back to home plate.
It was Mora's homer, RBI double and clutch defensive play in the fifth inning that helped the Orioles take a lead over the Oakland Athletics into the seventh inning. It was his two-out throwing error that contributed to the lead going away.
Mora's errant throw on Milton Bradley's grounder prolonged the seventh inning and gave Thomas a chance to come to the plate as the go-ahead run. With the A's trailing by one, Thomas slammed the struggling Williams' second pitch for his 29th home run. Oakland's bullpen did the rest in the 5-4 victory over the Orioles last night in front of 31,179.
Brad Halsey (4-4) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in relief to gain the win. Justin Duchscherer pitched the ninth for his seventh save, as the Orioles (60-74) fell to 1-3 on current nine-game road trip. Thomas' clutch home run denied Orioles starter Erik Bedard 's first victory since July 23.
The Orioles staged a two-out rally in the sixth against Oakland starter Joe Blanton, started by Kevin Millar 's four-pitch walk. Millar moved to third on Chris Gomez 's single and then both came around to score on Jeff Fiorentino's bloop single into shallow left field.
The hit by Fiorentino, who joined the club earlier in the day after getting called up from Double-A Bowie, gave the Orioles a 4-2 lead.
Oakland got one back in the sixth, benefiting from Bedard's sporadic control. He allowed back-to-back walks to start the inning and then threw a one-out wild pitch that put runners on second and third. Marco Scutaro hit an RBI groundout to make the score 4-3, but Bedard struck out Antonio Perez to end the inning and his evening.
Bedard allowed three runs on six hits and four walks while striking out six in six innings, leaving in a position to get his first victory in seven starts. However, in order for that to happen, the Orioles' much-maligned bullpen needed to get nine outs while protecting a one-run lead.
Williams had gotten the first two with little trouble, but then came what looked like a harmless grounder by Bradley. One batter later, the Orioles' lead had vanished.
The A's entered the series as the hottest team in the league. They are 32-13 since the All-Star break and just finished a month in which they went 21-6. Overall, Oakland, which extended its lead to 8 1/2 games over Los Angeles in the American League West, hasn't lost a series since dropping two of three to Boston from July 24-26.
Sam Perlozzo has stated several times that the Orioles are still "in the business of winning games," but the Orioles manager also recognizes the importance of resting some of his regulars for the stretch run. "They've been going at it hard," he said.
Yesterday, the Orioles' lineup featured second baseman Gomez, who made just his second start since July 26, left fielder Fiorentino and catcher Danny Ardoin. The trio has combined to make 19 starts all year.
Brian Roberts remained on the bench until pinch hitting in the eighth, alongside Brandon Fahey, Corey Patterson and Ramon Hernandez . Technically, only Roberts, Fahey and Fernando Tatis were available. Patterson (sprained shoulder), Hernandez (strained side muscle) and backup catcher Chris Widger (pinched nerve) all could miss this entire series with Perlozzo acknowledging before last night's game that Patterson might be done for the rest of the road trip.
The Orioles did take an early lead last night on Mora's bases-empty homer in the first inning. Mora jumped on Blanton's 2-2 pitch, sending it deep into the left-field bleachers. It was his 14th home run this season, but only his second since Aug. 1.
Bedard had a sharp first inning, striking out both Bobby Kielty and Bradley looking. But a swinging one-out bunt by Oakland center fielder Jay Payton in the second inning led to the A's first run. Payton stole second on the third strike to Nick Swisher and then scored when Mark Ellis lined a double down the right-field line.
Ellis put the A's up 2-1, singling in Thomas, who led off the bottom of the fourth with a line single.
The inning could have been worse for Bedard, but the Orioles threw out Payton at home trying to score on a wild pitch. Replays showed Payton's foot touching home just as Bedard was applying the tag. Home plate umpire Mark Wegner gave the Orioles the call.
The Orioles tied the game at 2 in the top of the fifth as Mora came through again, driving a two-out double into the right-center field gap to score Newhan. The Orioles center fielder, who went 3-for-5, had also reached on a double.
Oakland threatened to regain its lead in the fifth. However, with men on first and third and two outs, Mora did well to snare Thomas' hard grounder and then threw him out to end the threat.
Copyright © 2006, The Baltimore Sun
Athletics 5, Orioles 4
A's rally on error, homer to top O's
Mora goes from hero to goat as 2-out error precedes Thomas hit
By Jeff Zrebiec
Sun Reporter
Originally published September 2, 2006
OAKLAND, Calif. // Melvin Mora watched Frank Thomas' two-run homer off Todd Williams clang into the left-field seats at McAfee Coliseum. He stood motionless for a moment and then stomped around the left side of the infield with his back to home plate.
It was Mora's homer, RBI double and clutch defensive play in the fifth inning that helped the Orioles take a lead over the Oakland Athletics into the seventh inning. It was his two-out throwing error that contributed to the lead going away.
Mora's errant throw on Milton Bradley's grounder prolonged the seventh inning and gave Thomas a chance to come to the plate as the go-ahead run. With the A's trailing by one, Thomas slammed the struggling Williams' second pitch for his 29th home run. Oakland's bullpen did the rest in the 5-4 victory over the Orioles last night in front of 31,179.
Brad Halsey (4-4) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings in relief to gain the win. Justin Duchscherer pitched the ninth for his seventh save, as the Orioles (60-74) fell to 1-3 on current nine-game road trip. Thomas' clutch home run denied Orioles starter Erik Bedard 's first victory since July 23.
The Orioles staged a two-out rally in the sixth against Oakland starter Joe Blanton, started by Kevin Millar 's four-pitch walk. Millar moved to third on Chris Gomez 's single and then both came around to score on Jeff Fiorentino's bloop single into shallow left field.
The hit by Fiorentino, who joined the club earlier in the day after getting called up from Double-A Bowie, gave the Orioles a 4-2 lead.
Oakland got one back in the sixth, benefiting from Bedard's sporadic control. He allowed back-to-back walks to start the inning and then threw a one-out wild pitch that put runners on second and third. Marco Scutaro hit an RBI groundout to make the score 4-3, but Bedard struck out Antonio Perez to end the inning and his evening.
Bedard allowed three runs on six hits and four walks while striking out six in six innings, leaving in a position to get his first victory in seven starts. However, in order for that to happen, the Orioles' much-maligned bullpen needed to get nine outs while protecting a one-run lead.
Williams had gotten the first two with little trouble, but then came what looked like a harmless grounder by Bradley. One batter later, the Orioles' lead had vanished.
The A's entered the series as the hottest team in the league. They are 32-13 since the All-Star break and just finished a month in which they went 21-6. Overall, Oakland, which extended its lead to 8 1/2 games over Los Angeles in the American League West, hasn't lost a series since dropping two of three to Boston from July 24-26.
Sam Perlozzo has stated several times that the Orioles are still "in the business of winning games," but the Orioles manager also recognizes the importance of resting some of his regulars for the stretch run. "They've been going at it hard," he said.
Yesterday, the Orioles' lineup featured second baseman Gomez, who made just his second start since July 26, left fielder Fiorentino and catcher Danny Ardoin. The trio has combined to make 19 starts all year.
Brian Roberts remained on the bench until pinch hitting in the eighth, alongside Brandon Fahey, Corey Patterson and Ramon Hernandez . Technically, only Roberts, Fahey and Fernando Tatis were available. Patterson (sprained shoulder), Hernandez (strained side muscle) and backup catcher Chris Widger (pinched nerve) all could miss this entire series with Perlozzo acknowledging before last night's game that Patterson might be done for the rest of the road trip.
The Orioles did take an early lead last night on Mora's bases-empty homer in the first inning. Mora jumped on Blanton's 2-2 pitch, sending it deep into the left-field bleachers. It was his 14th home run this season, but only his second since Aug. 1.
Bedard had a sharp first inning, striking out both Bobby Kielty and Bradley looking. But a swinging one-out bunt by Oakland center fielder Jay Payton in the second inning led to the A's first run. Payton stole second on the third strike to Nick Swisher and then scored when Mark Ellis lined a double down the right-field line.
Ellis put the A's up 2-1, singling in Thomas, who led off the bottom of the fourth with a line single.
The inning could have been worse for Bedard, but the Orioles threw out Payton at home trying to score on a wild pitch. Replays showed Payton's foot touching home just as Bedard was applying the tag. Home plate umpire Mark Wegner gave the Orioles the call.
The Orioles tied the game at 2 in the top of the fifth as Mora came through again, driving a two-out double into the right-center field gap to score Newhan. The Orioles center fielder, who went 3-for-5, had also reached on a double.
Oakland threatened to regain its lead in the fifth. However, with men on first and third and two outs, Mora did well to snare Thomas' hard grounder and then threw him out to end the threat.
Copyright © 2006, The Baltimore Sun