A’s lose another heartbreaker on game-ending baserunning error
Take a look around the league with Big League Stew’s daily wrap up. We’ll hit on all of the biggest moments from the day that you may have missed, while providing highlights, photos and interesting stats.
The only area the Oakland A’s have been consistent in this season is their inability to get out of their own way. Now 37 games into the 2015 season, 13 of them have been decided one by run, and time after time in those situations they’ve failed to make the necessary play to put them over the top rope.
That includes Friday’s 7-6 loss to the Chicago White Sox, which dropped their record in one-run games to 1-12. In fact, Friday’s loss might be the one that best captures their misery. In a game they once led 6-2, starter Jesse Hahn and three A’s relievers combined to surrender five runs and the lead.
In the ninth, Oakland positioned themselves to overcome that when Coco Crisp (who was previously 1-for-32) lined a double to left center. With catcher Stephen Vogt running from first, that’s where it needed to be to score him. Third base coach Mike Gallego initially waved him home, but then changed his mind as Vogt approached. Unfortunately, it was a little too late.
By the time Vogt realized he needed to stop, he had already rounded the bases too aggressively. Because the White Sox executed their relay, they were able to catch Vogt and ultimately tag him out to end the game.
After the game, everybody from Gallego to Vogt to manager Bob Melvin took responsibility for their role in the total meltdown, but it doesn’t change this.
MIGUEL CABRERA NEARS MILESTONE AND HISTORY
Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera is on the verge of doing something pretty special. In Detroit’s 10-4 win against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday, Cabrera hit a two-run homer off Cardinals reliever Mitch Harris, which iced the game and positioned him to make some history with his next swing.
The home run was the 399th home run of Cabrera’s career. His next one will make him the 53rd member of MLB’s 400 home run club, a club Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre himself joined on Friday, and it will propel Cabrera past Andre Galarraga as the all-time home run leader from Venezuela.
Cabrera should be positioned well to reach that feat on Saturday afternoon. He entered play Friday batting just .158 with no homers and one RBI in 57 at-bats at night during night games this season. During day games, he’s hitting .471 with eight homers and 25 RBIs. The daylight is to his liking, which doesn’t bode well for Trevor Lyons or the Cardinals on Saturday.
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NELSON CRUZ DELIVERS WALK-OFF HIT FOR MARINERS
If you’re playing against the Seattle Mariners, the last guy you want to see batting with the game on the line is Nelson Cruz. Unfortunately for the Boston Red Sox, it was Cruz’s turn to bat with the winning run on second base in the ninth inning, and he finished them off with a walkoff single to left field.
What was interesting, though, was that Boston actually had an open base to work with. Even with two outs in the inning, it would have made sense to walk Cruz and take their chances with Kyle Seager. Instead, manager John Farrell and pitcher Junichi Tazawa went at him, and they paid the price.
And now they regret it.
The tough 2-1 loss spoiled what was a brilliant start for Clay Buchholz. In eight innings, Buchholz allowed one run on three hits while striking out 11.
The Red Sox were looking to win their third straight despite scoring only five runs during that time frame.
METS LOSING STREAK REACHES FIVE
For as hot as the Mets were in April, they’ve cooled off considerably in May. A trip to Wrigley Field earlier this week resulted in a four-game sweep at the hands of the Chicago Cubs. On Friday, the losing streak reached five after the National League’s worst team, the Milwaukee Brewers, shut them out 7-0.
After Thursday’s loss in Chicago, manager Terry Collins challenged his players to step up. The message didn’t get through based on Friday’s results. The Mets only managed three hits against Kyle Lohse and Michael Blazek.
On the hill, Bartolo Colon had his least effective outing of the season, allowing six runs (five earned) in five innings. Gerardo Parra and Ryan Braun did most of the damage. Parra doubled home one in the third and homered in the fifth. Braun homered off Colon in the third and added a second homer against Carlos Torres in the eighth.
The Mets will turn to Jacob deGrom to be the streak-stopper on Saturday. He’ll be opposed by Matt Garza.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
