A's Beat Baltimore 14-9 in a Wild Game

In what some might call the game of the year, the Oakland A's prevailed to defeat the Baltimore Orioles 14-9 in a game that had momentum swinging from one side to the next very frequently. Both pitching staffs were absolutely horrendous, allowing for some exciting offense by both sides.

It was the A's the stormed out to a 5-0 lead in the second inning, thanks to an RBI triple by Josh Reddick, who scored on a wild pitch, and a couple of home runs by Chris Carter and Brandon Hicks.

But the Orioles would come back in a hurry, scoring six unanswered runs to take the lead. Down 5-3 in the sixth and with two runners on, Adam Jones hit the first pitch by Jarrod Parker on a line to left, just barely getting out of Camden Yards to put Baltimore in front.

The A's would then respond (remember the momentum changes?). Miguel Socolovich walked the bases loaded with two outs, allowing Seth Smith to smack a three-run double into left-center. 8-6 Oakland.

We're not even close to done. As you probably guessed by now, the Orioles would come back once again. Down 8-7, 65-year old Jim Thome (just kidding) came up with another clutch hit, an RBI single past the shift  to tie the game at eight. Chris Davis, the next batter, would knock in the go-ahead run with another single and the O's took a 9-8 lead.

But in the ninth, the A's would make another comeback and put the game away for good. With one out, they went on a furious rally. With runners on first and second, Derek Norris hit a bouncer that found a hole through the right side, tying the game at nine. After Brandon Moss walked to load the bases, Jemile Weeks hit a flair down the left field line that dropped to put the A's ahead. Coco Crisp followed that up with a two-run single to right, then a Seth Smith double off the wall in right field put the cherry on top of the sundae. It was a six-run ninth inning for Oakland, putting them ahead 14-9, and they would hang on to win.

Both starting pitchers (Parker for the A's, Zach Britton for the O's) allowed six earned runs. Jerry Blevins, who pitched the ninth inning, would pick up the win.

What's on Tap


Bartolo Colon (6-8, 3.97 ERA) will be sure to serve up some meatballs tomorrow afternoon as he takes on Tommy Hunter (4-5, 5.57 ERA) of the Orioles. Sorry, Bartolo.

Posted in: Baltimore Orioles,Oakland Athletics