Winning streak continues through season finale

Late rally sends A's past Nationals, A's hang on late to beat Astros in shortened contest

A's manager Ryan Metcalfe missed his first contest of the season, but the A's proved the body could function, at least temporarily, without its head. Those headless chickens started slow, but pulled away eight runs in the final two innings in a 14-6 victory over the Nationals.

Brent Everett appeared to be ready to continue his slump when he opened the game with an error in left field, but Everett got mad and got even in a matter of moments, promptly throwing out the same guy at the plate on the next play.

"He made an awesome throw and what made it even better was it came right after the error he made," said Roland Belcher, who showed up to help keep the A's afloat.

Everett then got his bat back in working order, hitting singles in his first two at-bats and finishing the game 2-for-3 with a pair of walks, a stolen base, an RBI and a run.

The A's erased a 1-0 deficit with a pair of run in the first with Clinton Yeager leading off the first with a walk, stealing second and scoring on a single by Billy Dodson. Dodson scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly by Mike Mastro'. Yeager reached on an error in the third and scored on a booming double by Mastro'. Yeager's speed was a key to the A's lone run in the fifth, singling and advancing to third on a pickoff throw and scoring on a grounder by Dodson.

Even with the hot start, the A's lead was just 4-1 after five innings. Kevin Kennedy extended the lead to 6-1 with a two-run single in the sixth. Kennedy also played a key role in the victory holding the Nationals to one run through four innings before giving way to Shawn Purcell. Purcell, picked up his first victory for the A's finishing with five strong innings, striking out 10.

Most of the A's runs in the final 2 innings came on errors and walks. Rene Torres came through with a two-run single and Belcher managed to walk three times.

The Astros pushed the A's throughout the game and managed to push the A's buttons the wrong way, eventually causing the game to be halted in the eighth inning.

The score was tied 2-2 after four innings after the A's squandered six hits in the first two innings but only managed two runs, the second coming on an RBI single by Kennedy. Kennedy gave the A's four solid innings on the mound before giving way to Metcalfe, who has another strong tune-up for the postseason. Metcalfe didn't allow a run or a hit and got out of a jam by striking out Jason Moody with two runners on. It wasn't much but enough to vulture a victory.

Metcalfe picked up the victory because the offense finally hit stride in the fifth. Dodson sparked the rally with a leadoff single, Yeager followed with a walk and Jon Breidinger drove home Dodson with a single. Shawn Purcell followed with a double off the wall in left. Everett cleared the bases with a stinging double down the left-field line. The A's scored just one more run on a double by Breidinger and an RBI single by Purcell that made the lead 7-3 in the seventh.

The game got wild in the eighth when Purcell entered and no one could touch his nasty curve ball. Purcell struck out four Astros in the eighth, because Dodson, the reserve catcher had trouble handling his curves, allowing two strikeout victims to reach first. An error also kept the inning alive, but it was ended when Moody couldn't stop his chatter, even lashing out at the A's scorekeeper before the umpires stopped the game.

Clint Yeager scored 4 runs in the final two games of the season.

Below: Rene Torres bobbles a grounder against the Astros.

Jon Breidinger pitched two dominant innings against the Astros, striking out five of the eight batters he faced. He also went 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs and a double.

Brent Everett (left) made a diving attempt to catch this fly ball. He's been making big plays on offense and defense the last few weeks, throwing out a runner at the plate and going 2-for-3 in both games. Everett had the rare distinction of being named MVP in back-to-back weeks to end the season. Ryan Metcalfe (right) managed to pick up this pop fly in a rare defensive stint (Photo by his niece Ali Metcalfe). Metcalfe also played one inning on the mound, tuning up his awkward southpaw motion for the postseason.

Everett - MVP