Pitcher’s duel in Oakland doesn’t disappoint (most)
It was a marquee match up, that is for sure. Someone calling into the local radio station said it should be a crime to not take your kids out of school to see it.
I’m not sure it was not THAT epic of a match up, as if say Greg Maddux and Nolan Ryan had matched up against one another in their primes. However, “King” Felix vs. Jon Lester is a match up of two of the best pitchers in baseball.
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Hernandez prevailed in the end as the Seattle Mariners defeated the Oakland Athletics by a score of 2-1. It was the type of pitcher’s dual that was expected.
The entire game came down to one pitch, one made by Jon Lester.
The A’s were leading 1-0 going into the top of the seventh inning. Newly acquired Adam Dunn hit his second home run, in his third game since joining the Athletics, off of Hernandez in the bottom of the fourth inning. That was all the scoring the scoring either team could muster against the other’s ace prior to the top of the seventh.
Through six innings, Hernandez had allowed a single to Jed Lowrie in the first, the homer run to Dunn in the fourth and a single to Vogt in the sixth. He also allowed two walks, one to Derek Norris in the third and another to Josh Reddick in the sixth. After that the Athletics did not have another base runner.
Up until the seventh Lester had been dealing, not allowing a walk and giving up doubles to Robinson Cano in the first, Kyle Seager in the fourth and Chris Taylor in the fifth. He also allowed a single to Stefen Romero in the second inning.
It was a pitcher’s duel up until and even after the seventh inning. However, it was the bottom of the seventh that sealed the deal for the Mariners.
Searger and Corey Hart went back to back off Lester to start the inning who allowed three straight hits, the home runs and a single to Mike Zunino before retiring Romero and ending the inning when Austin Jackson grounded into a double play.
That was all the offense Seattle needed. As the A’s went quietly against Hernandez in the eighth and closer Fernando Rodney who pitched the ninth. Lester pitched a flawless bottom of the eighth.
Luke Gregerson came in to pitch the top of the ninth for the A’s. He surrendered Seager’s third hit of the afternoon, a single, before getting Hart to strike out swinging and Zunino to ground out into an inning ending double play.
When all was said and done both teams used two pitchers, the Athletics allowing eight total hits but no walks and the Mariners giving up just three hits but also two walks. It was a pretty boring game to those who don’t understand baseball but for those that do it was certainly an epic pitching dual with the Mariners emerging victorious.