GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: LA ANGELS (92-67) at OAKLAND (75-84)

AL: LA ANGELS at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">AL AT OAKLAND - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: S Stewart ran for M Piazza.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, S STEWART ON FIRST, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: LA ANGELS 2
OAKLAND 2 BOTTOM, 9TH

DUE UP FOR OAKLAND: M Scutaro (.260, 1-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">AL AT OAKLAND - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY KURT SUZUKI SCORED SHANNON STEWART.

FINAL SCORE: OAKLAND 3, LA ANGELS 2</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
LA ANGELS 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 4 1
OAKLAND 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 8 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: LAA - JERED WEAVER, ERVIN SANTANA (7TH), DARREN OLIVER (8TH), JUSTIN
SPEIER (8TH), CHRIS BOOTCHECK (9TH) AND MIKE NAPOLI

OAK - CHAD GAUDIN, HUSTON STREET (9TH) AND KURT SUZUKI

HOME RUNS: LAA - MIKE NAPOLI (10) OFF CHAD GAUDIN IN THE 7TH, 0 ON
KENDRY MORALES (4) OFF HUSTON STREET IN THE 9TH, 0 ON

OAK - DARIC BARTON (4) OFF JERED WEAVER IN THE 3RD, 0 ON</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
LA ANGELS 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 4 1
OAKLAND 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 8 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: LAA - JERED WEAVER, ERVIN SANTANA (7TH), DARREN OLIVER (8TH), JUSTIN
SPEIER (8TH), CHRIS BOOTCHECK (9TH) AND MIKE NAPOLI

OAK - CHAD GAUDIN, HUSTON STREET (9TH) AND KURT SUZUKI


WP - HUSTON STREET (5-2)
LP - CHRIS BOOTCHECK (3-3)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: LAA - MIKE NAPOLI (10) OFF CHAD GAUDIN IN THE 7TH, 0 ON
KENDRY MORALES (4) OFF HUSTON STREET IN THE 9TH, 0 ON

OAK - DARIC BARTON (4) OFF JERED WEAVER IN THE 3RD, 0 ON


TIME: 2:07 ATT: 28,062

PROBABLES:</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">LA ANGELS (2) VS OAKLAND (3) - FINAL

LA ANGELS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Figgins rf 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .330
T Murphy rf 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .184
E Aybar ss-2b 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 .237
M Izturis 2b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .289
R Quinlan 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .247
C Kotchman 1b 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 .296
K Morales dh 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 .294
M Napoli c 3 1 2 1 1 0 0 .247
B Wood 3b-ss 4 0 0 0 0 2 4 .152
T Evans lf 3 0 0 0 0 3 3 .091
N Haynes cf 3 0 0 0 0 2 3 .267

Totals 31 2 4 2 3 11 11

BATTING: 2B - C Kotchman (37, C Gaudin). HR - M Napoli (10, 7th inning off C
Gaudin 0 on, 0 Out), K Morales (4, 9th inning off H Street 0 on, 1 Out). RBI -
M Napoli (34), K Morales (15). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - N
Haynes 2. Team LOB - 5.

FIELDING: E - E Aybar (7, ground ball).


OAKLAND ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
M Ellis 2b 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 .276
D Barton 1b 4 1 1 1 0 0 0 .347
N Swisher cf 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 .262
J Cust rf 3 0 1 0 1 1 0 .256
J DaVanon rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .238
M Piazza dh 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .275
S Stewart pr 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .290
M Scutaro ss 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .260
J Hannahan 3b 4 0 1 0 0 1 2 .278
K Suzuki c 4 0 1 1 0 0 2 .249
K Thompson lf 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 .143

Totals 32 3 8 3 1 4 9

BATTING: 2B - M Scutaro (13, J Weaver); M Ellis (33, D Oliver). HR - D Barton
(4, 3rd inning off J Weaver 0 on, 1 Out). S - M Scutaro. SF - N Swisher. RBI -
D Barton (8), N Swisher (78), K Suzuki (39). Runners left in scoring position,
2 out - M Piazza 1, K Thompson 2. Team LOB - 7.

BASERUNNING: SB - M Scutaro (2, 2nd base off J Weaver/M Napoli).


----------------------------------------------------
LA ANGELS - 000 000 101 -- 2
OAKLAND - 001 000 011 -- 3

One out when winning run scored.
----------------------------------------------------

LA ANGELS ip h r er bb so hr era
J Weaver 6 4 1 1 1 2 1 3.91
E Santana 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 5.76
D Oliver 1/3 1 1 1 0 0 0 3.78
J Speier 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.88
C Bootcheck (L, 3-3) 1/3 3 1 1 0 0 0 4.77

OAKLAND ip h r er bb so hr era
C Gaudin 8 3 1 1 3 11 1 4.42
H Street (W, 5-2; B, 5) 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 2.88

Pitches-strikes: J Weaver 85-58; E Santana 12-9; D Oliver 3-2; J Speier 3-2;
C Bootcheck 9-5; C Gaudin 107-73; H Street 10-8. Ground balls-fly balls: J
Weaver 4-12; E Santana 0-1; D Oliver 1-0; J Speier 0-2; C Bootcheck 1-0; C
Gaudin 10-3; H Street 1-2. Batters faced: J Weaver 24; E Santana 3; D Oliver 2;
J Speier 2; C Bootcheck 4; C Gaudin 30; H Street 4.

UMPIRES: HP--Fieldin Culbreth. 1B--Marty Foster. 2B--Paul Schrieber. 3B--Tim
Mcclelland.

T--2:07. Att--28,062.
Weather: 68 degrees, sunny. Wind: 8 mph, out to
right.</div>

 

Suzuki gives A's win over Angels in finale

<h3>OAKLAND 3, LA ANGELS 2</h3>OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- Rookie Kurt Suzuki hit a<div class="pre">walk-off single in the ninth inning as the Oakland Athletics</div>posted a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim intheir season finale Sunday.


Despite the victory, the Athletics (76-86) finished the season10 games under .500, marking their first losing campaign since1998 - when they posted a 74-88 mark.


However, the A's were able to give their fans one last reason tocheer in this one.


With the game tied at 2-2, Mike Piazza led off the ninth with asingle off Chris Bootcheck (3-3). Pinch-runner Shannon Stewartwas sacrificed to second and moved to third on single beforeSuzuki blooped a hit to right field to win the game.

Los Angeles, which opens the American League Division Series inBoston on Wednesday, tied the game in the ninth as KendryMorales hit a one-out, solo homer to right field off Oaklandcloser Houston Street (5-2).


Morales' blast spoiled a solid effort from Chad Gaudin in hisfinal start of the season. Gaudin allowed just one run andthree hits in eight innings with a career-high 11 strikeouts.

Oakland, which won the season series over Anaheim for the firsttime since 2003, took an early lead in the third as rookie DaricBarton pounced on a first-pitch offering from Anaheim starterJared Weaver and deposited it over the right-center field wallfor a 1-0 edge.


The Angels answered in the seventh when Mike Napoli belted asolo shot over the right field wall to even the score at 1-1.

Nick Swisher snapped the tie with sacrifice fly to right in theeight that scored Mark Ellis, who led off the frame with adouble off Ervin Santana.

 

AL: LA ANGELS at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
LA ANGELS 2
OAKLAND 3 FINAL</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LA ANGELS (2) AT OAKLAND (3) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OAKLAND 3RD: T Murphy in right field. M Ellis fouled out to first.
D Barton homered to left. N Swisher flied out to right. J Cust walked.
M Piazza flied out to right. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, OAKLAND 1.

LA ANGELS 7TH: M Napoli homered to right. B Wood struck out looking.
T Evans struck out swinging. N Haynes grounded out to first. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) LA ANGELS 1, OAKLAND 1.

OAKLAND 8TH: D Oliver relieved E Santana. M Ellis doubled to deep left.
D Barton grounded out to shortstop, M Ellis to third. J Speier relieved
D Oliver. N Swisher hit sacrifice fly to right, M Ellis scored. J Cust lined out
to left. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 1, OAKLAND 2.

LA ANGELS 9TH: J DaVanon in right field. H Street relieved C Gaudin.
C Kotchman popped out to shortstop. K Morales homered to right. M Napoli fouled
out to catcher. B Wood grounded out to third. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
LA ANGELS 2, OAKLAND 2.

OAKLAND 9TH: C Bootcheck relieved J Speier. M Piazza singled to right.
S Stewart ran for M Piazza. M Scutaro sacrificed to catcher, S Stewart to second.
J Hannahan singled to right, S Stewart to third. K Suzuki singled to shallow
right, S Stewart scored, J Hannahan to second. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
LA ANGELS 2, OAKLAND 3.</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
LA ANGELS 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 4 1
OAKLAND 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 8 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: LAA - JERED WEAVER, ERVIN SANTANA (7TH), DARREN OLIVER (8TH), JUSTIN
SPEIER (8TH), CHRIS BOOTCHECK (9TH) AND MIKE NAPOLI

OAK - CHAD GAUDIN, HUSTON STREET (9TH) AND KURT SUZUKI


WP - HUSTON STREET (5-2)
LP - CHRIS BOOTCHECK (3-3)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: LAA - MIKE NAPOLI (10) OFF CHAD GAUDIN IN THE 7TH, 0 ON
KENDRY MORALES (4) OFF HUSTON STREET IN THE 9TH, 0 ON

OAK - DARIC BARTON (4) OFF JERED WEAVER IN THE 3RD, 0 ON


TIME: 2:07 ATT: 28,062</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LA ANGELS (2) AT OAKLAND (3) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

La Angels Starting Lineups -- C Figgins RF, E Aybar SS, M Izturis 2B,
C Kotchman 1B, K Morales DH, M Napoli C, B Wood 3B, T Evans LF, N Haynes CF,
J Weaver RHP.

Oakland Starting Lineups -- M Ellis 2B, D Barton 1B, N Swisher CF, J Cust RF,
M Piazza DH, M Scutaro SS, J Hannahan 3B, K Suzuki C, K Thompson LF, C Gaudin RHP.

Umpires -- Fieldin Culbreth (HP), Marty Foster (1B), Paul Schrieber (2B),
Tim Mcclelland (3B).

Gametime Weather: 68 degrees, Sunny, wind out to right at 8 mph.


LA ANGELS 1ST: C Figgins struck out looking. E Aybar struck out swinging.
M Izturis grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0,
OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 1ST: M Ellis flied out to right. D Barton flied out to center.
N Swisher singled to center. J Cust singled to right, N Swisher to third.
M Piazza lined out to third. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, OAKLAND 0.

LA ANGELS 2ND: C Kotchman doubled to deep right center. K Morales walked.
M Napoli walked, C Kotchman to third, K Morales to second. B Wood struck out
swinging. T Evans struck out swinging. N Haynes struck out swinging. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 2ND: M Scutaro safe at first on error by shortstop E Aybar.
J Hannahan flied out to right. K Suzuki flied out to right. M Scutaro stole
second. K Thompson flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Error) LA ANGELS 0,
OAKLAND 0.

LA ANGELS 3RD: C Figgins grounded out to first. E Aybar grounded out to
pitcher. M Izturis grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
LA ANGELS 0, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 3RD: T Murphy in right field. M Ellis fouled out to first.
D Barton homered to left. N Swisher flied out to right. J Cust walked.
M Piazza flied out to right. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, OAKLAND 1.

LA ANGELS 4TH: C Kotchman grounded out to second. K Morales struck out
swinging. M Napoli singled to center. B Wood grounded into fielder's choice
to third, M Napoli out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0,
OAKLAND 1.

OAKLAND 4TH: M Scutaro doubled to left. J Hannahan fouled out to third.
K Suzuki fouled out to right. K Thompson grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, OAKLAND 1.

LA ANGELS 5TH: T Evans struck out looking. N Haynes struck out swinging.
T Murphy struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, OAKLAND 1.

OAKLAND 5TH: M Ellis grounded out to third. D Barton lined out to center.
N Swisher grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0,
OAKLAND 1.

LA ANGELS 6TH: E Aybar grounded out to first. M Izturis grounded out to
second. C Kotchman walked. K Morales flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, OAKLAND 1.

OAKLAND 6TH: E Aybar at second base. R Quinlan at third base. B Wood at
shortstop. J Cust struck out swinging. M Piazza struck out swinging.
M Scutaro grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0,
OAKLAND 1.

LA ANGELS 7TH: M Napoli homered to right. B Wood struck out looking.
T Evans struck out swinging. N Haynes grounded out to first. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) LA ANGELS 1, OAKLAND 1.

OAKLAND 7TH: E Santana relieved J Weaver. J Hannahan struck out swinging.
K Suzuki lined out to right. K Thompson struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) LA ANGELS 1, OAKLAND 1.

LA ANGELS 8TH: T Murphy grounded out to first. E Aybar flied out to right.
R Quinlan flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 1, OAKLAND 1.

OAKLAND 8TH: D Oliver relieved E Santana. M Ellis doubled to deep left.
D Barton grounded out to shortstop, M Ellis to third. J Speier relieved
D Oliver. N Swisher hit sacrifice fly to right, M Ellis scored. J Cust lined out
to left. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 1, OAKLAND 2.

LA ANGELS 9TH: J DaVanon in right field. H Street relieved C Gaudin.
C Kotchman popped out to shortstop. K Morales homered to right. M Napoli fouled
out to catcher. B Wood grounded out to third. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
LA ANGELS 2, OAKLAND 2.

OAKLAND 9TH: C Bootcheck relieved J Speier. M Piazza singled to right.
S Stewart ran for M Piazza. M Scutaro sacrificed to catcher, S Stewart to second.
J Hannahan singled to right, S Stewart to third. K Suzuki singled to shallow
right, S Stewart scored. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 2, OAKLAND 3.</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LA ANGELS (2) AT OAKLAND (3) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OAKLAND 3RD: T Murphy in right field. M Ellis fouled out to first.
D Barton homered to left. N Swisher flied out to right. J Cust walked.
M Piazza flied out to right. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 0, OAKLAND 1.

LA ANGELS 7TH: M Napoli homered to right. B Wood struck out looking.
T Evans struck out swinging. N Haynes grounded out to first. (1 Run, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) LA ANGELS 1, OAKLAND 1.

OAKLAND 8TH: D Oliver relieved E Santana. M Ellis doubled to deep left.
D Barton grounded out to shortstop, M Ellis to third. J Speier relieved
D Oliver. N Swisher hit sacrifice fly to right, M Ellis scored. J Cust lined out
to left. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 1, OAKLAND 2.

LA ANGELS 9TH: J DaVanon in right field. H Street relieved C Gaudin.
C Kotchman popped out to shortstop. K Morales homered to right. M Napoli fouled
out to catcher. B Wood grounded out to third. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
LA ANGELS 2, OAKLAND 2.

OAKLAND 9TH: C Bootcheck relieved J Speier. M Piazza singled to right.
S Stewart ran for M Piazza. M Scutaro sacrificed to catcher, S Stewart to second.
J Hannahan singled to right, S Stewart to third. K Suzuki singled to shallow
right, S Stewart scored. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) LA ANGELS 2, OAKLAND 3.</div>

 

AL: LA ANGELS at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
LA ANGELS 2
OAKLAND 3 FINAL</div>

 

Suzuki gives A's win over Angels in finale

<h3>OAKLAND 3, LA ANGELS 2</h3>OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- Rookie Kurt Suzuki hit awalk-off single in the ninth inning as the Oakland Athleticsposted a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim intheir season finale Sunday.


Despite the victory, the Athletics (76-86) finished the season10 games under .500, marking their first losing campaign since1998 - when they posted a 74-88 mark.


However, the A's were able to give their fans one last reason tocheer in this one.


With the game tied at 2-2, Mike Piazza led off the ninth with asingle off Chris Bootcheck (3-3). Pinch-runner Shannon Stewartwas sacrificed to second and moved to third on single before<div class="pre">Suzuki blooped a hit to right field to win the game.</div>

"I was just looking to get something past them," said Suzuki ofthe Angels' drawn in infield. "I broke my bat, but got it outthere far enough."


The victory enabled Oakland to avoid a last place finish in theAmerican League West Division.


"It was a real nice to finish to the season," A's manager BobGeren said. "It was nice to end on a good note. The only teamsthat matter now are the ones who are going in, but it is alittle bit of an emotional lift going into next season."

Los Angeles, which opens the American League Division Series inBoston on Wednesday, tied the game in the ninth as KendryMorales hit a one-out, solo homer to right field off Oaklandcloser Houston Street (5-2).


"We got some guys rested and everybody got there work in thisseries," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "We'll be ready fornext week."


Morales' blast spoiled a solid effort from Chad Gaudin in hisfinal start of the season. Gaudin allowed just one run andthree hits in eight innings with a career-high 11 strikeouts.

"It felt great today," Gaudin said. "It's not how you start,<div class="pre">but how you finish. It was really nice to end the season with</div>an outing like this."


Oakland, which won the season series over Anaheim for the firsttime since 2003, took an early lead in the third as rookie DaricBarton pounced on a first-pitch offering from Anaheim starterJared Weaver and deposited it over the right-center field wallfor a 1-0 edge.


"It's just one on the list of things he's accomplished thisyear," Geren said.


The Angels answered in the seventh when Mike Napoli belted asolo shot over the right field wall to even the score at 1-1.

Nick Swisher snapped the tie with sacrifice fly to right in theeight that scored Mark Ellis, who led off the frame with adouble off Ervin Santana.