It’s now 29 years, one month, and 14 days since the Oakland A’s were last hit, the longest active strip in the majors in eight years. Fortunately, five hits Wednesday were enough for them.
The Oakland A’s broke a Kolby Allard no-hit bid in the 6th inning, and went on to win 3-1 over the Texas Rangers.
*** Game thread # 1 | Game Thread # 2 | Game thread # 3 ***
The first half of the game brought familiar frustration, as the A’s powerful lineup could invent nothing against a starting pitcher they apparently should have crushed – Allard entered the game with a 7.82 ERA. They finally broke through in the 6th, found the hit column and also scraped out a few runs to take the lead.
After a few one-time walks, none other than RBI machine Stephen Piscotty sharply managed to break the no-hitter and bring Oakland’s first run of the night home. After another walk to load the base, a wild pitch gave her a second counter in the inning.
Fast forward to the 8th and they scored another, against reliever Jonathan Hernandez. This time, Piscotty was the table setter with a leadoff single, and two more singles later, Robbie Grossman was hit by a pitch to force Piscotty home.
On the other hand, Mike Fiers’s play was disheartening. He hit a quality start, with six innings and just one undefeated run, plus seven strikeouts and just five base runners. The only run from Texas came on a throwing error by A’s catcher Sean Murphy, on a double steal attempt.
It was an ugly win, one of those days that the winner does not play great, but the loser is even worse. But it counts the same in the standings, and this is the kind of game in which warring teams find some way to get to the top. The A’s did just that, and that’s one reason they have the best record in the American League at 22-10.
More details to come! Keep recording again …
