SPIEZIO PLAYS ROLE OF SPOILER THREE-RUN BLAST IN 9TH INNING RUINS OAKLAND'S CHANCE TO GAIN ANGELS 6, OAKLAND 5.Byline: Gabe Lacques Staff Writer ANAHEIM - Scott Spiezio's three-run home run with one out in the ninth inning gave the Angels to a 6-5 win Tuesday night over the Oakland A's in front of 36,446 at Edison Field. And though the victory for the Angels wasn't much more than a feel-good win for them, it had to sting the A's, who were two outs away from increasing their lead in the A.L. West to 5 1/2 games over the Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. The Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Mariners have played in Safeco Field. . Spiezio connected on the first pitch off Oakland's Jim Mecir All seemed lost for the Angels as the A's led 5-3 by scoring twice in the eighth inning off Angels reliever Brendan Donnelly Brendan Kevin Donnelly (b. July 4, 1971 in Washington, D.C.) is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher with the Boston Red Sox. Donnelly had bounced around the minor leagues for 10 seasons after he was drafted in 1992 by the Chicago White Sox before he finally made his to snap a 3-3 tie. Erubiel Durazo Erubiel Durazo Cárdenas (born January 23, 1974 in Hermosillo, Sonora) is a Mexican baseball player. Durazo played for the Arizona Diamondbacks (1999-2002) and the Oakland Athletics (2003-2005). Durazo enjoyed his best season in 2004 when he hit . and Eric Chavez Eric Cesar Chavez (pronounced CHA-vez) (born December 7, 1977 in Los Angeles, California) is a Mexican-American third baseman in Major League Baseball who has played for the Oakland Athletics since 1998. each had an RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in single with two outs and the A's appeared on their way to their 92nd win of the season. Though they managed to win anyway, the Angels missed numerous scoring opportunities in the game that could have cost them if not for Spiezio. The Angels had already rallied from a 3-2 deficit to tie it 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh but missed a chance to go ahead. With David Eckstein David Mark Eckstein, (born January 20, 1975 in Sanford, Florida), is a Major League Baseball shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals. He is noted for his size, as he is a small (for professional sports) 5' 7", but weighs 175 pounds. on second and Chone Figgins on first with one out, Anderson hit one into the right-field corner. Eckstein scored easily and it appeared the speedy Figgins would score, too, but the ball bounced into the seats and Figgins had to stay at third. Salmon was walked intentionally to load the bases for Spiezio, who hit a fly ball to shallow center field. Eric Byrnes made the catch, but his throw home was up the third-base line. Unfortunately for the Angels, third-base coach Ron Roenicke held Figgins at third. With two outs, Jeff DaVanon was caught looking at an 80-mph curveball for the third strike on a 3-2 count to end the inning. The Angels also missed a golden opportunity to tie or go ahead in the fifth. Alfredo Amezaga walked and went to second on Eckstein's bloop bloop Baseball n. A blooper. tr.v. blooped, bloop·ing, bloops To hit (a ball) into the air just beyond the infield. adj. Hit just beyond the infield. single to begin the inning. Figgins sacrificed them to second and third before Anderson was walked intentionally to load the bases for Salmon. Salmon, who went into the game hitting .329 with runners in scoring position and less than two outs, fell behind in the count 0-2 before hitting a grounder to first. First baseman Scott Hatteberg went home for one out and the catcher Hernandez threw back to Hatteberg at first for the inning-ending 3-2-3 double play. It didn't take long for the A's to take a lead Tuesday, as the second batter of the game - Durazo - homered off Angels starter Jarrod Washburn for a 1-0 lead. Chavez followed with a single and scored later in the inning on Ramon Hernandez's single to make it 2-0. Washburn (10-15) was finished after five innings, needing 104 pitches to get that far. He gave up nine runs but managed to pitch out of trouble enough to keep the Angels close. Gabe Lacques, (626) 962-8811 gabe.lacques(at)sgvn.com |
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