GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: TORONTO (66-65) at OAKLAND (65-68)

AL: TORONTO at OAKLAND

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
TORONTO 5
OAKLAND 4 FINAL</div>

 

AL: TORONTO at OAKLAND

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TORONTO (5) AT OAKLAND (4) - HOW THEY SCORED
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OAKLAND 1ST: S Stewart popped out to shortstop. M Ellis singled to center.
N Swisher doubled to right, M Ellis to third. J Cust singled to shallow left,
M Ellis and N Swisher scored. M Piazza lined out to second. D Johnson struck
out looking. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) TORONTO 0, OAKLAND 2.

TORONTO 4TH: A Rios struck out swinging. M Stairs homered to center.
T Glaus walked. L Overbay grounded into double play, second to first, T Glaus
out at second.(1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TORONTO 1, OAKLAND 2.

TORONTO 6TH: V Wells tripled to deep center. R Johnson lined out to first.
A Rios doubled to deep right, V Wells scored. M Stairs intentionally walked.
T Glaus walked, A Rios to third, M Stairs to second. L Overbay grounded into
double play, second to shortstop to first, T Glaus out at second.(1 Run,
2 Hits, 0 Errors) TORONTO 2, OAKLAND 2.

TORONTO 8TH: A Brown relieved C Gaudin. R Johnson singled to deep right
center. A Rios singled to center, R Johnson to second. M Stairs struck out
swinging. T Glaus walked, R Johnson to third, A Rios to second. L Overbay
doubled to deep right, R Johnson and A Rios scored, T Glaus to third. A Hill
hit sacrifice fly to center, T Glaus scored. C Thigpen popped out to second.
(3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) TORONTO 5, OAKLAND 2.

OAKLAND 9TH: J Accardo relieved B Wolfe. J Cust walked. M Piazza flied out
to right. J Cust to second on fielder's indifference. D Johnson grounded out
to second, J Cust to third. M Scutaro singled to right center, J Cust scored.
M Scutaro to second on fielder's indifference. J Hannahan singled to left,
M Scutaro scored. K Suzuki singled to center, J Hannahan to second. C Janssen
relieved J Accardo. S Stewart grounded out to first. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
TORONTO 5, OAKLAND 4.</div>

 

AL: TORONTO at OAKLAND

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TORONTO (5) AT OAKLAND (4) - EVENT LOG
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Toronto Starting Lineups -- V Wells CF, R Johnson LF, A Rios RF, M Stairs DH,
T Glaus 3B, L Overbay 1B, A Hill 2B, C Thigpen C, J McDonald SS, J Litsch RHP.

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

Umpires -- Bill Miller (HP), Marvin Hudson (1B), Ed Montague (2B), Jerry Layne (3B).

Gametime Weather: 70 degrees, Clear, wind left to right at 11 mph.


TORONTO 1ST: V Wells flied out to right. R Johnson lined out to shortstop.
A Rios lined out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TORONTO 0, OAKLAND 0.

OAKLAND 1ST: S Stewart popped out to shortstop. M Ellis singled to center.
N Swisher doubled to right, M Ellis to third. J Cust singled to shallow left,
M Ellis and N Swisher scored. M Piazza lined out to second. D Johnson struck
out looking. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) TORONTO 0, OAKLAND 2.

TORONTO 2ND: M Stairs doubled to deep left center. T Glaus flied out to
center. L Overbay flied out to center. A Hill reached on infield single to
shortstop, M Stairs to third. C Thigpen struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) TORONTO 0, OAKLAND 2.

OAKLAND 2ND: M Scutaro grounded out to first. J Hannahan flied out to
right. K Suzuki flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TORONTO 0,
OAKLAND 2.

TORONTO 3RD: J McDonald flied out to right. V Wells flied out to right.
R Johnson flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TORONTO 0, OAKLAND 2.

OAKLAND 3RD: S Stewart fouled out to first. M Ellis grounded out to
pitcher. N Swisher flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TORONTO 0,
OAKLAND 2.

TORONTO 4TH: A Rios struck out swinging. M Stairs homered to center.
T Glaus walked. L Overbay grounded into double play, second to first, T Glaus
out at second.(1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TORONTO 1, OAKLAND 2.

OAKLAND 4TH: J Cust flied out to left. M Piazza popped out to first.
D Johnson struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TORONTO 1, OAKLAND 2.

TORONTO 5TH: A Hill flied out to center. C Thigpen struck out swinging.
J McDonald struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TORONTO 1, OAKLAND 2.

OAKLAND 5TH: M Scutaro grounded out to shortstop. J Hannahan walked.
K Suzuki hit by pitch, J Hannahan to second. S Stewart grounded out to pitcher,
J Hannahan to third, K Suzuki to second. M Ellis flied out to center. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) TORONTO 1, OAKLAND 2.

TORONTO 6TH: V Wells tripled to deep center. R Johnson lined out to first.
A Rios doubled to deep right, V Wells scored. M Stairs intentionally walked.
T Glaus walked, A Rios to third, M Stairs to second. L Overbay grounded into
double play, second to shortstop to first, T Glaus out at second.(1 Run,
2 Hits, 0 Errors) TORONTO 2, OAKLAND 2.

OAKLAND 6TH: N Swisher popped out to shortstop. J Cust struck out
swinging. M Piazza singled to right center. D Johnson lined out to first.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TORONTO 2, OAKLAND 2.

TORONTO 7TH: A Hill grounded out to shortstop. C Thigpen struck out
swinging. J McDonald walked. V Wells flied out to right. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) TORONTO 2, OAKLAND 2.

OAKLAND 7TH: B Wolfe relieved J Litsch. M Scutaro walked. J Hannahan
struck out swinging. K Suzuki grounded into double play, shortstop to second
to first, M Scutaro out at second.(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TORONTO 2,
OAKLAND 2.

TORONTO 8TH: A Brown relieved C Gaudin. R Johnson singled to deep right
center. A Rios singled to center, R Johnson to second. M Stairs struck out
swinging. T Glaus walked, R Johnson to third, A Rios to second. L Overbay
doubled to deep right, R Johnson and A Rios scored, T Glaus to third. A Hill
hit sacrifice fly to center, T Glaus scored. C Thigpen popped out to second.
(3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) TORONTO 5, OAKLAND 2.

OAKLAND 8TH: S Stewart grounded out to third. M Ellis grounded out to
shortstop. N Swisher grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
TORONTO 5, OAKLAND 2.

TORONTO 9TH: S Casilla relieved A Brown. J McDonald struck out swinging.
V Wells struck out looking. R Johnson flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) TORONTO 5, OAKLAND 2.

OAKLAND 9TH: J Accardo relieved B Wolfe. J Cust walked. M Piazza flied out
to right. J Cust to second on fielder's indifference. D Johnson grounded out
to second, J Cust to third. M Scutaro singled to right center, J Cust scored.
M Scutaro to second on fielder's indifference. J Hannahan singled to left,
M Scutaro scored. K Suzuki singled to center, J Hannahan to second. C Janssen
relieved J Accardo. S Stewart grounded out to first. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors)
TORONTO 5, OAKLAND 4.</div>

 

Blue Jays get late clutch hit from Overbay, down A's

<h3>TORONTO 5 OAKLAND 4</h3>By Tom Kent
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- Lyle Overbay drove in two runsin the eighth inning to break a tie as the Toronto Blue Jaysdefeated the Oakland Athletics, 5-4, on Tuesday.


With the score tied at 2-2 in the eighth, Reed Johnson greetedOakland reliever Andrew Brown (2-1) with a single to right fieldand Alex Rios followed with a single to center. After MattStairs struck out and Troy Glaus walked, Overbay lined a doubleoff the right field wall for a 4-2 advantage.


Aaron Hill followed with an RBI sacrifice fly to complete thescoring for the Blue Jays, who improved to 24-20 in one-runcontests.


Brian Wolfe (3-1) pitched two scoreless innings in relief ofOakland starter Chad Gaudin to pick up the win before turning itover to closer Jeremy Accardo in the ninth.


However, the righthander could only record two outs in the finalframe, surrendering two runs and three hits before giving wayto Casey Janssen, who got Shannon Stewart to ground out to firstto post his fourth save in eight chances.


Combined with a win in the series opener of this three-game seton Monday, the consecutive victories marked the first time thatToronto has won back-to-back games on the same road trip sinceJune 9-10 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.


Blue Jays rookie starter Jesse Litsch, who gave up two runs oversix frames while earning the win against the Los Angeles Angelsof Anaheim in his last start, yielded just two runs and fourhits in six innings. The rookie righthander entered with a 4-4record with a 2.43 ERA in in seven starts since being recalledfrom Class AAA Syracuse for his second stint with Toronto onJune 28.


Gaudin, who allowed just one run and struck out a career-high 10in his last start against Tampa Bay, was nearly as effective inthis contest. The 24-year-old righthander, who spent part ofthe 2005 season with Toronto before being traded to Oaklandprior to the 2006 campaign, allowed two runs and five hits withfive strikeouts and four walks.


Jack Cust finished with two RBI for the A's, who have droppedfive straight after tying a season high with a five-game winningstreak.

 

Blue Jays get late clutch hit from Overbay, down A's

<h3>TORONTO 5, OAKLAND 4</h3>By Tom Kent
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- Lyle Overbay drove in two runsin the eighth inning to break a tie as the Toronto Blue Jaysdefeated the Oakland Athletics, 5-4, on Tuesday.


With the score tied at 2-2 in the eighth, Reed Johnson greetedOakland reliever Andrew Brown (2-1) with a single to right fieldand Alex Rios followed with a single to center. After MattStairs struck out and Troy Glaus walked, Overbay lined a doubleoff the right field wall for a 4-2 advantage.


Aaron Hill followed with an RBI sacrifice fly to complete thescoring for the Blue Jays, who improved to 24-20 in one-runcontests.


"I got in a situation where I could hit his best pitch," Overbaysaid. "He got behind in the count and I was able to getsomething to drive."


"It was nice because he (Overbay) was in the same situation acouple innings before and he grounded into a double play,"Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "He got (himself into) afavorable count and turned it loose."


Brian Wolfe (3-1) pitched two scoreless innings in relief ofOakland starter Chad Gaudin to pick up the win before turning itover to closer Jeremy Accardo in the ninth.


However, the righthander could only record two outs in the finalframe, surrendering two runs and three hits before giving wayto Casey Janssen, who got Shannon Stewart to ground out to firstto post his fourth save in eight chances.


"It was a great effort," Oakland manager Bob Geren said. "Wejust came up short."


Combined with a win in the series opener of this three-game seton Monday, the consecutive victories marked the first time thatToronto has won back-to-back games on the same road trip sinceJune 9-10 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.


"It's nice because we've struggled here," Overbay said. "Ourpitching has kept us in games and given us a chance to win.We're playing good baseball right now."


Blue Jays rookie starter Jesse Litsch, who gave up two runs oversix frames while earning the win against the Los Angeles Angelsof Anaheim in his last start, yielded just two runs and fourhits in six innings. The rookie righthander entered with a 4-4record with a 2.43 ERA in in seven starts since being recalledfrom Class AAA Syracuse for his second stint with Toronto onJune 28.


Gaudin, who allowed just one run and struck out a career-high 10in his last start against Tampa Bay, was nearly as effective inthis contest. The 24-year-old righthander, who spent part ofthe 2005 season with Toronto before being traded to Oaklandprior to the 2006 campaign, allowed two runs and five hits withfive strikeouts and four walks.


"My slider got better as the game went on," Gaudin said."Sometimes, you have to pitch with what you got, and that's whathas been working for me lately."


Gaudin appears to have found the form that allowed him to postan impressive 8-3 record with a 2.88 ERA before the All-Starbreak, going 2-1 with a 3.38 ERA over his last four starts.This is in stark contrast to his 0-5 record and 8.56 ERA in thesix games he pitched in following the 'Midsummer Classic'.

"He's finishing strong," Geren said. "He started strong, he hada little spell in the middle, and he's back to his first-halfform."


Jack Cust finished with two RBI for the A's, who have droppedfive straight after tying a season high with a five-game winningstreak.