One for the Ages

So I went to an A's game with Heather last night. It was our 7th game of the season which also happened to be my birthday present from her. Even though there was no free giveaway, or birthday special, it was the perfect night at the ball park. I really didn't think much of this game as we took our usual seats, at the usual time, just behind the bullpen, preparing to watch the usual game; which for us means watching a win - the A's were 5-1 in the 6 games we've been to previously. This night, however, would be a little different. It would turn out to be an instant classic, or quite possibly considered a once in a lifetime affair, but in the end, I guess you could just call it: One for the Ages.

As the players began to take the field for their pregame warm up, I was feeling pretty confident. We had Gio Gonzalez on the mound who was coming off a great start against Cleveland on July 5th, striking out 8 to help the A's to a 5-2 victory. He was focused. Watching him stretch away from his teammates, only his ipod to keep him company, then later warming up in the bullpen only reassured this confidence. He looked solid, happy with his 'stuff,' ready to pitch a great game. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. It was terrible, he gave up a whopping 4 Home Runs in just 2.2 innings, giving us a huge 12-2 mountain to climb.

That didn't stop us, at the end of 4, we gained a little ground, bringing the score to 12-7. But in the 5th the Twins managed to manufacture another run. Which not surprisingly sent home roughly 1/2 of the 10,300 some odd crowd. Can't blame them, can you? A 6 run lead going into the 7th inning, crushes any hopes of a comeback, right? Especially with the way the A's have been playing lately.

Wrong. As some fans continued to trickle out of the Coliseum, the hopeful and encouraging Oakland Faithful stayed, and rightfully so, to witness the greatest comeback in Oakland A's history. The A's exploded for 7 runs in the 7th inning. It started off perfectly, producing 2 runs then working the Twins' bullpen to get the bases loaded. Next thing you know Matt Holliday makes his way to the plate, and Heather whispers to me: "He's going to hit a Grand Slam." I kinda brushed it off, wasn't expecting too much, I mean they just broguht in a new pitcher, Bob Keppel, so I was just hoping for any sort of run production. As Holliday stepped into the box those remaining in the stadium begin to chant "Lets's Go Oakland!" and every other "Oakland" I shouted, I could hear fans around me muttering: "Oh please, please, come on, please." Keppel, works the count to 1-2, then fires another fastball which forces Holliday to foul it off. There was a sigh of relief in the crowd, as we readied for the next pitch. At this moment the entire stadium comes to a hush, he winds up and fires, Holliday turns and launches a long fly ball into Centerfield, lifting us out of our seats, turning the sound of a mere 5,000 fans into an uproar of more than 50,000. You could hear my entire section, as this little white dot travels toward the fence, yelling "Go, go, go, YEAAAH!!" next thing you know I'm in the aisle with my hands in the air yelling as loud as I can, giving high fives to the people behind me. "He did it, he really did it," I said to myself as I gave Heather a high five. It was crazy. Then before we could even sit down, Jack Cust steps to the plate and bombs the go-ahead run against a new pitcher, Jose Mijares. I could not help myself, I almost knocked down heather, or so she says, giving high fives. Can you blame me? Its not like she was in danger of getting hurt! I did apologize though. So now that we had the lead, it was up to our bullpen to hold off the Twins' high powered offense. Geren sent in Brad Ziegler in the 8th to set it up for Michael Wuertz to get the save in the 9th. Everything went according to plan until the the final out of the game.

The count is 1-0 with runners on 1st and 2nd and 2 outs. Wuertz winds up, and throws a pitch straight into the dirt; it bounces off Suzuki and rolls all way to the backstop, sending cuddyer home. Scrambling, Suzuki shoots up from his crouched position to track down the ball. He can't find it. So frantically, we yell: "Behind you, it's behind you!" Finally he runs it down, and manages to toss a perfect ball to Wuertz who makes the tag in the nick of time. I was dumbfounded, that was the perfect way to end a brilliant game. In the words of Bill King: "Holy Toledo!"

- With no voice, and a giddy smile of amazement, this moment truly defines what it means to be a fan. This was without a doubt one of, if not THE best games I have ever been to.

Some of the stats and broken records:
- 2 Grand Slams
- 8 Homeruns
- 367 total pitches thrown
- 27 total runs and 39 hits
- Highest scoring 1-run game in OAK history
- Most runs allowed (13) in a win in OAK history
- Greatest comeback in OAK History

Couple more shots from the game:

Eric Chavez/Bob Shaefer