A's closer Sean Doolittle emotional after blown save in Wild Card loss

The A’s got unexpected production Tuesday night from an area of the team (the offense) that’s often struggled.

They struggled in an area (pitching) that you’d assume they’d take care of business.

The end result was a dramatic, gut-wrenching 9-8 loss to the Royals in the American League Wild Card game that ended the A’s season.

After the game, closer Sean Doolittle, who blew a potential six-out save by giving up they tying run in the ninth inning, spoke quietly, pausing for long periods to gather himself between answers as the emotions of the 4-hour, 45-minute game set in.

“To have the situation we had, a four-run lead, Lester pitching …” Doolittle said, “our guys swinging the bats the way they were. There’s a lot of pride down there in that bullpen, and I think throughout the course of the season it’s been one of the strengths of the team. And to let it slip away the way that we did and lose it the way that we did is incredibly frustrating.”

-- Joe Stiglich, CSNBayArea.com