Miracle In Oakland: A's Overcome 10-Run Deficit, Beat Twins

Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau, with his team already ahead by a 3-2 margin, shortened his swing on a low fastball from Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez, and crushed the offering deep to right-field, evading the foul pole for a grand slam.

After Michael Cuddyer followed with a solo shot, Morneau came to bat again, an inning later with two runners on base, and socked another home-run—this time a three-run bomb—to even deeper into the right-field seats.

Jason Kubel, who homered in the first inning, drove in the Twins 12th run with an RBI-single. They were ahead by 10, a commanding advantage, but it was only the third inning.

For some reason, in recent history, the hardest leads to hold have been the huge ones. The leading team knows to stay calm, but if the opponent breaks through with a flurry of runs, they become tentative, and try to hold the lead rather than add to their margin.

Nick Blackburn gave the Athletics life he couldn’t afford to give. Matt Holliday, their one-year rental, knocked a lead-off double, then, Blackburn served up a single to Jack Cust, allowing Holliday to score.

He was hittable, the best of signs for Oakland.

Daric Barton pulled the Athletics within seven with a two-run home-run. Oakland thought they could win.

Why not?

It was only the bottom of the third inning.

Santiago Casilla relieved Gonzalez, who allowed 10 runs on 11 hits in two and two-thirds innings, to record the final out of the third, then started the fourth inning. Casilla easily mowed down the suddenly frightened Twins in the frame, sending Blackburn back to the mound, and his A’s offense back to the plate.

Adam Kennedy led off the inning with a single, but was erased quickly, doubled off first as Orlando Cabrera lined out to Morneau. Blackburn had nothing, and wasn’t fooling Oakland one bit. He couldn’t get the final out of the inning before imploding once more.

After newly acquired Scott Hairston socked a single, Holliday continued his stellar night at the plate, nailing a two-run homer to left-field, drawing the A’s within five.

Russ Springer, relieving Casilla in the fifth, gave a run back, but given he entered with the bases-loaded and one out, he did a tremendous job limiting the damage. Springer, along with Craig Breslow, kept the margin at six, but Oakland’s offense went cold, and was running out of outs to work with.

They had nine outs left to overcome a six-run deficit. It turns out, they only needed three. The seventh inning was magical for the A’s.

A team that has struggled to score runs this year, made up for their hardships with one frame that could define their season. The first three batters reached, loading the bases with none-out. An out later, Cabrera doubled home two. Hairston proceeded with a walk, bring up Holliday, who had a chance to tie the game. That’s just what he did, depositing a fastball into the right-field bleachers, where a sparse group of fans cheered.

Holliday greeted Mark Ellis, Cabrera, and Hairston at home-plate, while the Twins dugout, and the nine on the field, looked dejected.

Cust made Minnesota’s hearts sink a little further, breaking the tie a pitch later with a home-run off Jose Mijares, who bent down in disgust watching the ball’s towering flight to center-field.

Now it was the Twins turn to be down, but not out. After a scoreless eighth inning, and after the first two hitters struck out to begin the ninth, Minnesota went to work. Cuddyer doubled to keep his team alive, then Kubel was intentionally walked.

Michael Wuertz, Oakland’s sixth pitcher of the game, missed low with a slider to Delmon Young, then uncorked a curveball that bounced a good four feet in front of home-plate. The pitch evaded catcher Kurt Suzuki, who had no clue where it went. As he looked around, Cuddyer scurried around third base, heading for home. Suzuki found the ball, and, with Cuddyer halfway down the third-base line, fired it to Wuertz.

Wuertz did the wrong thing.

Instead of blocking the plate, his feet were surrounding it. This left a wide opening for Cuddyer to slid home. Wuertz, with Cuddyer in his slide, tagged him once Suzuki’s throw hit his glove. Cuddyer slid between his legs, and appeared safe despite Wuertz’s tag. After a pause by home-plate umpire Mike Muchlinski, he called Cuddyer out.

The Twins right-fielder popped up immediately to argue the call. The Athletics stormed out of the dugout while Cuddyer and manager Ron Gardenhire protested.

The replays showed Cuddyer to be safe.

It was a blown call by an umpire with a perfect view at the play. Oakland could care less. They deserved to win. After all, they did everything in their power to lose the game in the opening innings, then everything to climb back. It was a miraculous comeback, and even though it ended in controversial fashion, there is no questioning the fight in the Athletics, a team now running high after a season full of lows.