Oakland Athletics Game 35 – Tuesday, May 12, 2015 @ 7:00 pm
Game Attendance: 24,605
Season Attendance: 335,762
Lowest Attendance: 15,025 (Game 2)
Game Time: 2:32
Season Time: 105:02 (4 days, 9 hours, 2 minutes)
Win Record: 13-22
Win Record vs Red Sox: 1-1
Streak: W1
AL West Standing: 5th
Elimination Number: 121
Winning Pitcher: Drew Pomeranz (2-3)
Losing Pitcher: Justin Masterson (2-2)
Pitchers/Pitch Count: Pomeranz/97, Rodriguez/9, Otero/17
Total Pitches per game: 123
Total Pitches per season: 5061
Game Home Runs: 3
Season Home Runs: 34
Game Runs: 9
Season Runs: 166
Runs Rank: 3rd
Run Differential: 3
Differential Rank: 14th
Game RBI Leader: Reddick (3), Sogard (3)
Season RBI Leader: Vogt (30)
Most RBI’s in Single Game: 5 (27)
Game RISP: 6 for 11
Game LOB: 7
Season RISP: 92 for 306
Season LOB: 242
Game Batting Average: .303
Lineup Batting Average: .262
Total Players Used in Game: 12
Most Players Used in Game: 20 (Game 25)
Challenged Plays: 1
Total Challenged Plays: 9
Total Overturned Plays: 3
Games Won in Extra Innings: 0
Total Games Played in Extra Innings: 6 (6,7,18,25,31,34)
Special Notes:
The Oakland Athletics win the pennant! The Oakland Athletics win the pennant!
Well, not quite but after a six game losing streak that featured four single run games the atmosphere was almost playoff caliber at the coliseum for game 35 of the 2015 season. The A’s scored early and they scored often with Marcus Semien coming just inches shy of a home run in his first at bat of the game. There were three homers off the bats of Stephen Vogt, Josh Reddick and Semien who managed to get one over the fence on his third at-bat.
In a testament to how strangely this season is going, the RBI leaders for this game were none other than Josh Reddick and Eric Sogard with three a piece. Not a day went by in 2014 without a fan calling for their trade but this year things are getting quieter on that front (some folks still complain about Sogard but I’ll take a solid defensive second baseman who’s hitting .270+ any day). Reddick hit his sixth home run and batted .800 for the day with one strike out. Sogard, the nerd, went .500 for the night and drove his RBI count up to 7. He’s also 11 for his last 30 but one are of concern is that he has struck out five times in that same span with no walks and his BAbip. Needless to say, it’s nice to see the two of these guys swinging well at the same time. Hopefully it will last.
Stephen Vogt, that magnificent specimen, has matched his career high (2014) for home runs after today’s jack and he did it in 41% of the plate appearances. He’s also one walk and five RBIs away from matching his 2014 numbers in those categories. His K% is going up slightly but shouldn’t be a cause for alarm just yet, especially if he’s producing in nearly every at bat that isn’t a K.
According to Mike Selleck, as of today, the top players in the American League with runners in scoring position are Vogt (.500), Lawrie (.462), and Reddick (.462).
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- Oakland A’s bring Deolis Guerra back on minor league deal
While there was a ton to get excited about with this game, I didn’t even mention the fact that Drew Pomeranz went 7 solid innings, the bullpen going hitless, or the fact that the elite defense (except for one error by Semien), fans should reserve jubulation until the A’s are able to string together two or three more wins in a row. The team, 35 games in, has only one winning streak and it was only two. They need to get on a roll and get a sizable winning streak going if they’re going to overcome the deficit they’ve cornered themselves into.
That being said, tonight’s game was evidence that this team is able to play solid, well rounded, fundamental baseball and could serve as a catalyst for a more successful season from here on out. We’ll just have to wait and see.