Breidinger slugs A's past Giants, 14-9
Rookie goes 4-for-5 with two doubles and a homer and drives in five runs
Jon Breidinger may just be the Lou Gehrigh to Ryan Metcalfe's Wally Pipp. The rookie first baseman is taking advantage of Metcalfe's injury and laying claim to long-term ownership of the position over the reigning REBL All-Star starter and league batting champion.
Breidinger started the season innocently enough, going 2-for-8 with two strikeouts, but he broke out with a 4-for-5 with two doubles, a homer and 5 RBIs to lead the A's past the Giants 14-9.
His RBI double in the third tied the game at 3-3. A shaky inning on the mound, allowing his first earned run of the season and helped the Giants take a 6-5 lead in the sixth after a Breidinger double had given the A's a 5-3 lead in the fifth. The tall lefty made up for any pitching woes by blasting a towering homer over the fence in right to chase REBL veteran Glen Hurley off the mound.
"There haven't been a lot of homers hit in this league since he switched to wood bats last year," Metcalfe said. "That shot shows what kind of power Jon has. He may just be that No. 5 hitter we've looking for to fill the void left by the injuries to Ryan Haven and Al Rubacabra."
Breidinger's homer put the A's up 12-6 after a seven-run sixth and allowed the A's to coast home, though they almost coasted to hard, allowing the Giants to cut the lead to 13-9 with a three-run eighth. Billy Dodson settled down in the ninth to earn his second save with Breidinger picking up the win after blowing a lead handed to him by Kevin Kennedy, who gave the A's another solid start.
Rookie Brent Everett might have been the story if not for Breidinger's power surge. In his first baseball game in more that 10 years, he swung like a well-oiled machine, rapping three singles and reaching first in all four plate appearances. He also showed a willingness to get dirty, getting thrown out at second and home with aggressive base running.
"We might have to work on that base-running a bit, but that was a heck of an opening day," Metcalfe said. "He showed great instincts and could be a key to keeping our offense going. Not a lot of guys can do that in their first game of the season, let alone 10 years."
Dodson also had a good day at the plate, going 2-for5 with a double and two RBIs. Clinton Yeager went 2-for-4 with an RBI to continue as the team's most consistent hitter thus far.
Metcalfe, though hobbled, did manage to reach first three times with two walks and an RBI single. Catcher Brodie Nissen broke out of his slump with his first single of the season and two other hard hit balls that helped him score three runs and drive in two. He also threw out the Giants leadoff batter to set an early tone.
The A's will have to polish up their defense if they plan to beat the Silversox and the ageless wonder, Larry Hendrickson, after committing seven errors against the Giants.
Jon Breidinger accounted for nine bases in five trips to the plate, powering two doubles and a homer against the Giants in a five-RBI performance.
Brent Everett had 3 hits in his 1st A's game, proving some softballers can still play hardball.
Ryan Metcalfe managed to reach first three times with two walks and an RBI single against the Giants.
Jon B - MVP
