The first game of the ALCS features Nate Lancaster vs Justin Kindberg. I'd never in a million years predict Kindberg to lose this one but then, the A's have been defying the odds all season long. Boston hosts and we've got a beautiful Sunday in October: 65 degrees and the wind blowing in from right at 12mph.
Top 1st: David Mesa, still in there pending the return of Alex Vallejo, cracks one into the right-center gap for a leadoff double. Israel Gaytan follows with a liner to right that just falls in front of Jun Kim. He gets it in quickly enough that even the speedy Mesa won't run on it. It's an early jam for Kindberg, runners on the corners with nobody out. Josh Lewis flies to center, not quite deep enough to score Mesa. Chase Jones hits a grounder to short and Oniji Handa has to trade the run for the out with a 6-4 fielder's choice. The A's draw first blood! Adam Groves hits a flare into center that CF John Glynn has to dive for, but he does come up with it. 1-0, A's.
Bottom 1st: John Glynn, his jersey still dirty from the previous play, flies out to center field. Brian Long grounds out to short. Mike Miller flies to left to retire the side. 1-2-3 in the first. 1-0, A's.
Top 2nd: Ray Hawkinson swings and misses at a 2-2 curveball for Justin Kindberg's first strikeout. Richard Berman flies to center. Matt Evenson works the count and draws a 7 pitch, 2 out walk. It's for naught, though, as Nate Lancaster grounds back to the pitcher. 1-0, A's.
Bottom 2nd: Tom Brown hits a Baltimore Chop that gets past the pitcher and, by the time 2B Israel Gaytan is able to come up with it, can result in nothing but a base hit. Kristian Schneider raps one down the right field line that just barely stays in fair territory. It goes for extra bases! Tom Brown scores from first base to tie the game at 1 apiece. Jun Kim ends a 7 pitch at-bat with a groundout to 2nd. Nate Lancaster plunks Handa to put runners on the corners. I'm sure it wasn't intentional! Jeremy Dolak flies to left but it's just a little to deep to drop in for a single and not deep enough to score Schneider from 3rd. Nate Lancaster drops a 2-0 pitch to Justin Kindberg in the dirt, which gets by C Jeremy Dolak and all the way to the backstop. The wild pitch puts the Sox up 2-1, and moves Handa into scoring position. That's where he'll stay, though, as Kindberg flies softly into right. 2-1, Red Sox.
Top 3rd: Mesa flies out to center field. Gaytan hits a hot shot to 1B Mike Miller that he scoops up and takes to first himself for the U3 putout. Josh Lewis' at-bat ends much the same way, with another U3. 2-1, Red Sox.
Bottom 3rd: John Glynn grounds out to Matt Evenson at shortstop. Brian Long belts one past 3B Chase Jones and down the left field line for a one-out double. I'd mentioned a couple other guys' doubles in the preview; well, Long led the league in the category last year and hit 30 of them in 1971 (good for 8th). Mike Miller creates a somewhat productive out, grounding out 6-3 but pushing Long to 3rd. It's a little moot, though, as Tom Brown belts one over the Green Monster to give the Sox a 4-1 lead. Schneider grounds out 6-3 but the damage has been done. 4-1, Red Sox.
Top 4th: Chase Jones belts a ball into left that hits the Green Monster. He's in at second before LF Tom Brown can chase it down. Groves flies to left. Hawkinson also tattoos the Monster; the double he hits scores Jones and brings the score to 4-2. Berman grounds out 6-3. Matt Evenson becomes Kindberg's 2nd K victim of this game to end the rally. 4-2, Red Sox.
Bottom 4th: Kim grounds out 5-3. Handa hits an 0-2 pitch deep to center but David Mesa chases it down for out number 2. Dolak hits one towards the hole at short but Evenson nabs it and throws to first for the final out. 4-2, Red Sox.
Top 5th: Lancaster hasn't been fantastic but he's kept the team in the game, somewhat, and he's only thrown 54 pitches so I'm going to keep him in. He strikes out. Mesa grounds to 2nd. Gaytan scorches a 2-2 splitter down the line in left for a 2 out double. Josh Lewis hits one to short that might have had a chance if anyone other than Oniji Handa was sitting at that position. It's a 6-3 groundout to retire the side. 4-2, Red Sox.
Bottom 5th: Lancaster strikes out Justin Kindberg, his first K of the game. He hasn't walked anybody but, well, the lack of any punchouts is a concern. Matt Evenson bobbles a ball hit right at him for his 1st error of the postseason and 18th overall. Jon Glynn is on at 1st with 1 out. Make that second, as the Astronaut steals second on Josh Lewis. Glynn had 37 thefts in the regular season, good for 3rd in the AL. He's not done yet! Glynn slides into 3rd for another steal. From here, all it takes is Brian Long hitting a high fly to center field that brings Glynn home well ahead of the throw. 5-2! Mike Miller rips one to center that looks like sure double but Dave Mesa leaps in and robs him of it for out number 3. Red Sox 5, A's 2.
Top 6th: Jones flies to left. Adam Groves pops out to Mike Miller at first base. Ray Hawkinson slaps a two-out base hit just past Miller into right. Berman hits one that again looks like it has a chance but again is hit in the general vicinity of Oniji Handa, which means it does not. 6-3 and the side is retired. 5-2, Red Sox.
Bottom 6th: Lancaster gives up a line drive base hit by Tom Brown into left field. Brown is 3 for 3 today with a HR, 2 runs, and 2 RBIs. Also, that's going to be it for Lancaster, who went 5+, allowing 4 ER on 5 hits, walking nobody and striking out 1 man.
Carlos Torres (3-1, 4.58), who had 12 relief appearances and 1 start in the regular season, takes the mound to try and take care of the lefty hitters Kristian Schneider and Jun Kim. He goes one better with the first guy, inducing a 4-6-3 double play out of Schneider. Kim strike out to retire the side. 5-2, Red Sox.
Top 7th: Evenson leads it off with a fly to center. In for the pitcher is RH pinch-hitter Raul Bueno (.278, 3, 21), who played in 67 games for the A's this year. He's a guy who loves to put the ball in play, with only 9 Ks and 4 walks in 100 PAs. He also has surprising power, which he puts to good use here as he rips a 1-2 pitch over the Green Monster to cut the lead to 5-3. Kindberg walks Mesa and even with him only 97 pitches in, the end might be near. Gaytan flies to right. Lewis hits one up the middle for a 2 out base hit, moving Mesa to 3rd. Runners on the corners for Chase Jones, 2 outs - a classic clutch situation. Unfortunately, Jones hits into the black hole that is shortstop to retire the side, 6-3. 5-3, Red Sox.
Bottom 7th: Setup man Chris Wilson takes the mound for the A's. He combines nice control with a positively evil circle change to get outs. Handa flies to center. Dolak laces a one-out single to left. Justin Kindberg is going to come out in favor of pinch-hitter Matt Wilson (.353, 2, 11). He threw 7 strong innings with 2 walks, 3 Ks, 8 hits, and 3 earned runs. It's not the kind of electric outing he's had the past 2 months but so far it's been good enough. Matt Wilson hits into a double play, 6-4-3, to end the inning. 5-3, Red Sox.
Top 8th: It's clearly time for stopper Matt Brock to take the mound. As noted in the preview, Brock's been struggling as of late but when he's one, he's got a fastball-slider combo that's very, very hard to track. Adam Groves hits a soft fly into right for the first out. Hawkinson lines one into right for a base hit. Berman walks and puts the tying run on base. Oh boy. This is the bad Matt Brock. Gil Wilson (.271, 2, 15), a shortstop who's a better hitter than Evenson but sticks on the bench because of Evenson's superior glove, comes in to pinch-hit and hits into a 4-6 fielder's choice for the 2nd out. That brings up pinch-hitter John Skelton coming in for Chris Wilson. The veteran takes Brock on a 6-pitch ride but eventually strikes out on a called fastball that quite frankly might have been a little outside for strike 3. 5-3, Red Sox.
Bottom 8th: Willis Chavez enters the game for the A's. He's a kitchen-sink lefty who somehow had pretty huge reverse splits this season. Probably good news, at least for tonight, since he'll be facing 2 right-handed batters before he sees his first left. Jon Glynn strikes out to lead it off. Brian Long swings at the first pitch and hits a liner towards 3rd that 3B Chase Jones dives for and grabs in the air for out #2. Mike Miller singles up the middle - reverse splits! Tom Brown hits one to third that Chase Jones is just barely able to make a play on for out #3. 5-3, Red Sox.
Top 9th: It's hang-on time in Fenway! The 1-2-3 batters are up for Oakland. David Mesa gets things rolling right away with a 3-2 double into left field. What looks like a sure single and probably a 5-4 game is turned into a diving catch by RF Jun Kim and the first out of the inning. Josh Lewis hits one straight up, almost, that's eventually caught by 2B Brian Long for out #2. It's not over yet, though! Chase Jones slaps one into right for his 2nd hit of the night. The go-ahead run comes to the plate in the form of Adam Groves. Groves belts a double into left, which scores Jones all the way from first. It's a tie game! Hawkinson hits one that looks like it has a chance for a second but hangs up and is caught by CF Jon Glynn to retire the side and send this one into the bottom of the 9th. 5-5.
Bottom 9th: Schneider hits one hard into left that Adam Groves catches at the base of the wall. Kim grounds out 3-1. Handa lines one into left field for a 2 out base hit. Dolak stays in and hits a hot liner that's unfortunately right at Chase Jones at third base. We're headed to extra innings! 5-5.
Top 10th: I'll leave Brock in as he's due up first next inning. Man, he's not been great lately though. Richard Berman has a hit taken away from him by 2B Brian Long. Score it L4. Gil Wilson also hits an atom ball, this time right at 3B Kristian Schneider. Out number 2. Chavez is due up and... with the bases empty, I'll let him reset the lineup. Brock duly strikes him out to retire the side. 5-5.
Bottom 10th: I, um, might have accidentally just left Brock in. Hey, it's his game to win! That's it! He flies to center. Glynn also flies out to David Mesa in center field. Brian Long lines one just past Gil Wilson at shortstop and into left field for a base hit. Mike Miller delivers in the clutch... to an extend, hitting a single into right that moves Long all the way over to third base. Can Tom Brown deliver a game-winning hit? The answer is no, no he can't; he grounds out to Gil Wilson to retire the side. 5-5.
Top 11th: Welp, Brock's in for his 4th inning. He's been fine, right? I mean, outside of blowing the save in the 9th. David Mesa grounds to 2nd. Israel Gaytan belts one into right that just barely clears the short RF porch. The A's lead, 6-5! Also that's finally it for Brock.
Bubba Touchton, who served as part of a closer by committee situation with California in 1970, arrives to relieve Brock. Lewis grounds out to short. Chase Jones Ks. The damage, however, it has been done. 6-5, A's.
Bottom 11th: Chavez insists he's still OK to pitch and who am I to judge? It doesn't hurt that he's facing 2 lefties - reverse splits or no, lefty on lefty action is the best. Schneider grounds to 2nd. Kim singles up the middle, bringing up Oniji Handa. Handa also singles, getting Kim on over to 3rd, and I think it's time to pull Chavez.
The 'pen is starting to run dry, so 4th starter Rick Shelton comes in. Shelton had some turrrrrible control this year - 144 walks in 259.1 IP - that unfortunately impacted an otherwise decent season. How will he fare in relief? Sam Marks (.325, 4, 33), who surprisingly only hit .267 as a pinch-hitter this year, is in for the catcher Dolak. He hits an absolute smash towards first... that Ray Hawkinson picks up and turns into a game-ending 3-6-3 double play. FINAL SCORE: 6-5, A's.
Wow, what a game! Maybe Oakland has a chance after all?