The A's sent flamethrower Rich Reyes to the hill to start the game, which was delayed, which proved costly for the A's.
Reyes struggled early, giving up 4 runs on 6 walks, five of them consecutively. Jose Tedayo took over for Reyes, and following a bleeder single up the middle, set down the Mariners in order. The A's came back to tie the game in the 3rd, when Joe Castro reached on a misplayed popup between the Catcher and Pitcher, and scored following a stolen base and a Doug Gates double. Bobby Cervantes reached on an error, and scored along with Gates on an Eric Smith single. Angel Schubert then doubled both Gates and Smith home to tie it up at 4-4.
Tedayo continued his mastery, and the A's inched ahead 5-4 when Brett Searson hit a sacrifice fly to score Gates in the 5th. The A's looked poised to win the game in the 7th, but 2 key A's errors led to 2 Mariner runs, putting the A's in a 7-5 hole. With time running out, and the spectre of this inning being the last, the A's came back with a vengence in the 7th, scoring 4 runs on consecutive hits by Searson, Bennet and Alvarez. Joe Castro moved the A's ahead 9-7 with a bases loaded single, and it looked like the A's would win the game, but the umpire declared that there were 8 minutes left on the clock.. Unbelievably, 3 A's players left due to work commitments, citing the late start. This left only 6 players on the diamond for the Athletics, and the game ended with the Mariners pulling out a forfeit victory. Unquestionably, a tough ending for both teams, especially considering the grit and determination shown by both sides throughout the afternoon.
Hats off the the Sid Hernandez, Gaspar, and all the Mariners, who were gracious and dignified in the forfeit victory. Truly, in this game there were no losers, only two fine teams playing the greatest game in the world.
Players Of The Game:
Jose Tedayo: 5IP 2H, 0ER
Tom Bennett: 3-4 1RBI, 1 R
