Crazy Eights -- A's break 8-8 tie in 3-run 8th
A's nearly blow 8-1 lead, but new guys set table for clutch veterans Dodson & Mastro'
The A's looked like the dominant offense of last season opening the 2007 season, scoring 8 runs in the first five innings to take an 8-1 lead against the new look Astros. However, it was the way the A's responded after the Astros tied the game with a 6-run rally in the eight to tie the score at 8-8.
The A's won the game by scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the eighth with the aid of two walks and two A's taking fastballs in the gut to set the table for the A's most reliable RBI men, Billy Dodson and Mike Mastro', who both singled in runs to cap the 11-8 victory Sunday.
Dodson and Mastro' driving in runs may have been old hat for the A's, but the two new A's Matt Wolfe and Steve Nojima made it possible reaching base with good plate discipline. Rene Torres led off the eighth by working for a walk and the A's placed runners at first and second when Wolfe took a solid fastball in the chest. Torres and Wolfe pulled off a double steal to keep the pressure on Astros newcomer Russ Lawson to help Nojima walk to load the bases.
After Clinton Yeager struck out sending up Ryan Haven with a strikeout or ground ball possibly destroying the rally. Haven, who had missed most of the last two seasons due illness and chest surgery, took a fastball in his chest to drive in the go-ahead run and pump up the A's dugout. Dodson and Mastro' followed with sharp RBI singles.
"It's great to have Ryan Haven back because he has such a knack for firing up this team," A's manager Ryan Metcalfe said. "He's got a way of keeping the team loose with his goofy humor and then doing it more by taking a victory more serious than his health ... or maybe he just forgot that he has a big scar right where he took that fastball. He's just a gamer and this team feeds off him. We may have gone 17-1 last year, but we missed him and we missed him for more than his ability to drive in runs."
Dodson, who struggled to get a third out in the 7th after getting the two of the first three batters he faced out -- snaring a comeback line drive and a striking out Astros cleanup hitter Fabian Lara. After a Jason Lorenz single, the Astros peppered 4 straight balls to Wolfe who just moved to 3rd base while Mastro' shifted to replace Dodson at short.
"I think I should have had a couple of those," Wolfe admitted even though just one of the four hits was ruled an error.
There was nothing Wolfe or anyone could have done about Nick Crump's the two-run single to right that tied the score at 8-8. As Metcalfe paced the dugout as hard as he could on a broken leg, Dodson ended the damage after six straight Astros reached base by getting a groundout to shortstop.
Dodson seemed like a different pitcher and the A's defense did its part in the final two innings. Nojima ended the game with a double play by making a running catch on a shallow fly to center and throwing Lara out at second after he edged off to far, hoping to score on a potential single.
The A's started well against Lawson, a hard-throwing pitcher with a big curve ball who should help the Astros make a playoff push as he gains more control. Haven walked, stole second and score on an RBI single by Dodson. Dodson made to score 2-0, scoring on a single by Mastro.
The A's scored 5 runs in the fourth with walks and errors setting the table for RBI hits by Torres and Wolfe and bases-loaded walks by Kevin Metcalfe and Nojima. Haven closed the fourth with a bases loaded hit by pitch. Shawn Purcell walked and scored on a second straight bases loaded walk by Metcalfe, making the lead 8-1 in the 5th.
Purcell started and didn't walk a batter through the first three innings. He walked two in the fourth and balked in a run, but left with plenty of reasons to expect a win. Nojima did the job in his first appearance for the A's with two quick innings that had some tense moments.
A rare two-out error by Dodson made Nojima pitch to an extra batter, which he walked and then Torres almost made the inning turn into a disaster when he booted a ball at second, but the EMT pulled out the jaws of life, scrambling to recover the ball and flip it to first in time to end the inning. Nojima got burned then rescued by catcher Brodie Nissen in the sixth. Nojima struck out the second batter he faced after Crump singled to lead off the sixth, but Nojima bounced the pitch and Crump distracted Nissen trying to steal third, drawing a throw and all runners were safe. Unfazed, Nojima got the next batter to hit a grounder to third, Wolfe fired to Haven at first, who threw to Nissen too late to get Crump at the plate, but Nissen spun and fired to third in time to gun down the runner he erroneously allowed to reach first earlier.
Billy Dodson scrambles back into first base to avoid a pick off. He was safe in time to score a run which he would need to pick up the win on the mound for the A's in relief of Shawn Purcell and Steve Nojima, who pitched well enough to pick up the win themselves.
Brodie Nissen fires to third and ................
Mike Mastro' makes the tag on an impressive 5-3-2-5 double play started by Matt Wolfe (far right)
Haven- MVP
