The Oakland A's trailed the Seattle Mariners by two runs in the ninth inning on Saturday, but as teams have found out all season, the A's don't go away easily. With one out and Josh Reddick on first base, third basemen, Josh Donaldson, stepped in and crushed a curveball from Tom Wilhelmsen for a game tying home run.
Grant Balfour kept Seattle off the board in the top of the 10th inning, setting up a chance for some extra-inning, walk-off magic for the A's. Coco Crisp lead off the inning with a single, and after a line out by Stephen Drew and a walk to Yoenis Cespedes, the A's had a runner in scoring position with only one out.
The walk to Cespedes came on four pitches, so Brandon Moss stepped to the plate looking for a fastball to hit early in the count. Mariners' reliever, Stephen Pryor, tried to sneak a first pitch fastball by Moss, which turned out to be a horrible idea. Moss was looking for the pitch and absolutely crushed it to right field for the game-winning home run. Moss was rewarded with a mob celebration at home plate followed by some pie to the face and a couple tubs of Gatorade to wash it down.
The home run by Moss gave the A's their 14th walk-off victory this season, best in the league. It was the 21st home run of the season by Moss who was hitting in the clean up spot in the lineup. If you include the home runs Moss hit at the Triple A level, he has 36 on the year. Pretty impressive for a journeyman outfielder that asked his Triple A manager early in the season for a shot to play first base.
The win was huge for Oakland. With Tampa Bay and Baltimore also winning on Saturday, the A's were able to hold their ground in the Wild Card race. They currently sit in the second spot, one game behind the Wild Card leaders. With only four games left to play this season, Oakland can control their own destiny if they keep winning.
The A's have 90 wins now on the season, the most they have managed in a season since winning 93 games back in 2006. Prior to the season, the A's were seen as a team that could lose 100 games in 2012, but they have played outstanding baseball and are in great position to make the postseason for the first time since 2006.
The A's have four more regular season games to go, and if the first 158 are any indication, their should be some more exciting finishes to come.
Source
oakland.athletics.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/
*Daniel became an Oakland A's fan during the Bash Brothers era of the late 1980s. He has followed the A's and Major League Baseball for over 20 years. Daniel is currently a Featured Contributor on the Yahoo! Contributor Network.
