Oakland Athletics Vs. Washington Nationals
Game 1: Jon Lester vs. Stephen Strasburg, Nationals Park
PAIR OF DONALDSON BLASTS LEADS A’S TO SERIES OPENING ‘W’
Lester Goes 6 Strong, Oakland Pen Handles the Rest
WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 (AP) – Josh Donaldson hit a pair of solo home runs and Jon Lester pitched six strong innings to lead the Oakland Athletics to a 4-1 victory over the Washington Nationals in the opening game of the World Series at Nationals Park. Josh Reddick had three hits, including a solo home run of his own, and five relievers combined to toss three perfect innings of relief for the A’s, who wasted no time in subduing the sellout Washington crowd.
Donaldson’s first home run came with two outs in the bottom of the first inning off Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg and gave the A’s a 1-0 lead. In the identical situation in the top of the third, Donaldson delivered again. The solo shot was his fifth long ball of the postseason and increased the A’s lead to 2-0.
The Nationals countered with Asdrubel Cabrera’s solo home run off Lester in the bottom of the third, cutting the Oakland advantage to 2-1.
The Nationals threatened, with runners on first and second and two outs, in the bottom of the fourth but Lester retired Wilson Ramos on a ground ball to shortstop Jed Lowrie to escape damage. And Lester pitched around Anthony Rendon’s lead-off double in the sixth to keep the A’s in the lead.
After Donaldson’s second homer, Strasburg held the A’s hitless through the sixth, but allowed a base hit to Josh Reddick leading off the seventh, and Derek Norris followed with a double to left-center, scoring Reddick all the way from first, to up the Oakland lead to 3-1. Matt Thornton replaced Strasburg on the mound and struck out Eric Sogard for the first out, then was replaced himself by Aaron Barrett when Jonny Gomes was announced as a pinch hitter for Lester. But after the right-handed Barrett was summoned from the bullpen, A’s manager Bob Melvin countered with Stephen Vogt. Barrett retired Vogt on a pop fly, then got Coco Crisp on a grounder to short to end the inning.
Eric O’Flaherty and Dan Otero combined to retire the Nationals in order in the bottom of the seventh and Fernando Abad and Luke Gregerson did likewise in the eighth.
In the top of the ninth, Reddick greeted new pitcher Rafael Soriano with a blast off the façade of the second level in right field for a 4-1 Oakland lead. The tape measure shot was Reddick’s third home run in his last three games.
Sean Doolittle came on and retired Jayson Werth on strikes and Adam LaRoche on a fly to center before fanning Ian Desmond to close out the game, earning his fifth postseason save in the process. Doolittle has now gone six straight games, covering 6-1/3 innings, without allowing a single baserunner, striking out 13 of the 19 batters he’s faced during that stretch.
10/21/2014, Oak14-Was14, Nationals Park
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
2014 Athletics 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 4 8 0 7 0
2014 Nationals 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 1 4 0
Athletics AB R H BI AVG Nationals AB R H BI AVG
Crisp cf 5 0 0 0 .000 Span cf 4 0 1 0 .250
Fuld lf 5 0 0 0 .000 Rendon 3b 4 0 1 0 .250
Donaldson 3b 4 2 2 2 .500 Werth rf 4 0 0 0 .000
Moss 1b 4 0 1 0 .250 LaRoche 1b 4 0 0 0 .000
Doolittle p 0 0 0 0 .000 Desmond ss 4 0 1 0 .250
Lowrie ss 4 0 0 0 .000 Harper lf 2 0 0 0 .000
Reddick rf 4 2 3 1 .750 Ramos,W c 3 0 0 0 .000
Norris,De c 3 0 2 1 .667 Cabrera,A 2b 3 1 1 1 .333
Sogard 2b 3 0 0 0 .000 Strasburg p 2 0 0 0 .000
Lester p 2 0 0 0 .000 Thornton p 0 0 0 0 .000
Gomes,J ph 0 0 0 0 .000 Barrett p 0 0 0 0 .000
Vogt ph 1 0 0 0 .000 Blevins p 0 0 0 0 .000
O'Flaherty p 0 0 0 0 .000 Schierholtz ph 0 0 0 0 .000
Otero p 0 0 0 0 .000 Zimmerman,R ph 1 0 0 0 .000
Abad p 0 0 0 0 .000 Soriano,R p 0 0 0 0 .000
Gregerson p 0 0 0 0 .000 31 1 4 1
Callaspo ph 0 0 0 0 .000
35 4 8 4
Athletics INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Lester W 1-0 6.0 4 1 1 1 8 95 61 1.50
O'Flaherty H 1 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 3 3 0.00
Otero H 1 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 7 5 0.00
Abad H 1 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 6 3 0.00
Gregerson H 1 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0.00
Doolittle S 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 15 10 0.00
9.0 4 1 1 1 11 128 84
Nationals INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Strasburg L 0-1 6.0 5 3 3 1 8 82 61 4.50
Thornton 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 4 3 0.00
Barrett 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 6 4 0.00
Blevins 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 9 7 0.00
Soriano,R 1.0 2 1 1 1 1 19 11 9.00
9.0 8 4 4 2 11 120 86
Oak: Gomes,J batted for Lester in the 7th
Vogt batted for Gomes,J in the 7th
Callaspo batted for Gregerson in the 9th
Callaspo moved to 1b in the 9th
Was: Schierholtz batted for Blevins in the 8th
Zimmerman,R batted for Schierholtz in the 8th
E-Ramos,W. 2B-Norris,De(1), Rendon(1). HR-Donaldson 2(2), Reddick(1),
Cabrera,A(1). RBI-Donaldson 2(2), Reddick(1), Norris,De(1), Cabrera,A(1).
SB-Span(1). K-Crisp, Fuld 2, Donaldson 2, Moss, Lowrie, Reddick, Sogard 2,
Lester, Span, Rendon, Werth 2, Desmond 2, Harper 2, Ramos,W, Strasburg 2.
BB-Norris,De, Callaspo, Harper. SH-Sogard.
GWRBI: Donaldson
Temperature: 64, Sky: partly cloudy, Wind: in from right at 3 MPH.
Attendance: 41,448
Game Time: 2:50
Game 2: Jeff Samardzija vs. Jordan Zimmerman, Nationals Park
NATS BOUNCE BACK, CRUISE PAST A’S TO SQUARE SERIES
Zimmerman, 3 Relievers Subdue Oakland Bats
WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 (AP) – Jordan Zimmerman tossed six strong innings, leading the Washington Nationals past the Oakland Athletics 5-1 at Nationals Park in Game 2 of the World Series. The Washington victory evens the series at a game apiece as the combatants use the forthcoming off-day to travel across the country. Game 3 will be at the Oakland Coliseum on Oct. 24.
Zimmerman held the A’s to a single run on five hits, striking out six. Three relievers—Jerry Blevins, Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen—each tossed a scoreless inning of relief to close out the game.
The A’s scored their only run in the top of the third when Jed Lowrie hit his first home run of the postseason leading off the top of the third. The Nationals tied the game in the bottom of the fourth when Ian Desmond singled with two outs off of Oakland starter Jeff Samardzija and stole second. Bryce Harper brought Desmond home with a base hit to right-center, knotting the score at one.
Washington took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth. Zimmerman helped himself with a one-out single, then advanced to third when Denard Span doubled down the right field line. It appeared that Samardzija might escape damage when he struck out Anthony Rendon, but Jayson Werth, who led the National League in runs batted in during the regular season, bounced a single through the middle, scoring both runners to put the Nationals on top 3-1.
Washington capped the scoring in the bottom of the sixth. Desmond led off with a double and Eric O’Flaherty replaced Samardzija on the mound for Oakland. O’Flaherty retired Harper on a fly to center, with Demond advancing to third. Wilson Ramos was walked intentionally after O’Flaherty fell behind him 3-0, and Asdrubel Cabrera came through with a bas hit to left-center, scoring Desmond to make it 4-1, with Ramos taking third. Ryan Zimmerman came on to pinch hit for Jordan Zimmerman and Jesse Chavez entered the game to pitch for Oakland. Zimmerman struck out, but Span came through again, singling to left to score Ramos to make the score 5-1. Rendon flied out to end the inning.
The A’s threatened to get back in the game off Clippard in the eighth, courtesy of a defensive letdown. Stephen Vogt pinch hit to open the frame and reached when Rendon botched his ground ball. Clippard then walked Coco Crisp, moving the potential tying run into the on-deck circle. But after a meeting at the mound, Clippard struck out Sam Fuld, then retired Josh Donaldson on a soft ground ball to second, with the runners advancing 90 feet. Brandon Moss bounced to second to end the inning and the Nationals still led by four runs.
Storen entered the game in the ninth and dispatched the A’s in order to end the contest.
When the series resume for Game 3, Tanner Roark is expected to start for the Nationals, against Sonny Gray for the A’s.
10/22/2014, Oak14-Was14, Nationals Park
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
2014 Athletics 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0 6 0
2014 Nationals 0 0 0 1 2 2 0 0 x 5 11 1 7 0
Athletics AB R H BI AVG Nationals AB R H BI AVG
Crisp cf 3 0 1 0 .125 Span cf 4 1 3 1 .500
Fuld lf 3 0 2 0 .250 Rendon 3b 4 0 0 0 .125
Donaldson 3b 4 0 0 0 .250 Werth rf 4 0 1 2 .125
Moss 1b 4 0 0 0 .125 LaRoche 1b 4 0 0 0 .000
Lowrie ss 4 1 1 1 .125 Desmond ss 4 2 2 0 .375
Reddick rf 4 0 0 0 .375 Harper lf 4 0 1 1 .167
Norris,De c 4 0 0 0 .286 Ramos,W c 3 1 1 0 .167
Sogard 2b 3 0 1 0 .167 Cabrera,A 2b 4 0 2 1 .429
Samardzija p 2 0 0 0 .000 Storen p 0 0 0 0 .000
O'Flaherty p 0 0 0 0 .000 Zimmermann,J p 1 1 1 0 1.000
Chavez,J p 0 0 0 0 .000 Zimmerman,R ph 1 0 0 0 .000
Vogt ph 1 0 0 0 .000 Blevins p 0 0 0 0 .000
Cook p 0 0 0 0 .000 Clippard p 0 0 0 0 .000
32 1 5 1 Espinosa ph 1 0 0 0 .000
34 5 11 5
Athletics INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Samardzija L 0-1 5.0 8 4 4 0 4 77 48 7.20
O'Flaherty 0.1 1 1 1 1 0 8 3 13.50
Chavez,J 1.2 1 0 0 0 2 16 12 0.00
Cook 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 16 10 0.00
8.0 11 5 5 1 6 117 73
Nationals INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Zimmermann,J W 1-0 6.0 5 1 1 0 6 88 60 1.50
Blevins H 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 10 7 0.00
Clippard 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 17 9 0.00
Storen 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 10 7 0.00
9.0 5 1 1 1 8 125 83
Oak: Vogt batted for Chavez,J in the 8th
Was: Zimmerman,R batted for Zimmermann,J in the 6th
Espinosa batted for Clippard in the 8th
Espinosa moved to 2b in the 9th
E-Rendon. 2B-Span(1), Desmond(1). HR-Lowrie(1). RBI-Lowrie(1), Span(1),
Werth 2(2), Harper(1), Cabrera,A(2). SB-Span(2), Desmond(1). K-Crisp, Fuld,
Donaldson, Moss, Norris,De 2, Sogard, Samardzija, Rendon, Werth 2, Desmond,
Harper, Zimmerman,R. BB-Crisp, Ramos,W. SH-Fuld, Zimmermann,J.
GWRBI: Werth
Temperature: 56, Sky: clear, Wind: out to right at 12 MPH.
Attendance: 41,618
Game Time: 2:38
Game 3: Tanner Roark vs. Sonny Gray, Oakland Coliseum
NATS HOLD OFF LATE A’S CHARGE, TAKE SERIES LEAD
Rendon, Werth Homer
OAKLAND, Oct. 24 (AP) – The Washington Nationals used a four-run seventh inning to take a three-run lead, then held on for dear life, overcoming a late rally to hold off the Oakland Athletics 6-5 in Game 3 of the World Series at the Oakland Coliseum. Anthony Rendon and Jayson Werth, who led Washington’s offense all year, both homered and drove in a pair of runs. Coco Crisp and Sam Fuld combined to drive in four runs for the A’s.
Rendon’s solo home run off Oakland starter Sonny Gray with one out in the top of the first—Rendon’s fifth long ball of the postseason—put the Nationals on top 1-0.
But the A’s took the lead in the bottom of the third against Washington starter Tanner Roark. Derek Norris drew a lead-off walk and, one out later, Crisp walked as well, putting runners on first and second. Fuld followed with a double to the gap in right-center, scoring Norris and advancing Crisp to third. Josh Donaldson then hit a slow roller to third. Rendon came home with his throw, in an attempt to nab Crisp, but failed. The A’s now led 2-1, with runners on first and third and only one out. But Brandon Moss popped to second and Jed Lowrie grounded to short, with no further damage being done.
Oakland added a run in the fifth, when Crisp lined a one-out single and Fuld followed with his second two-bagger of the game. Crisp scored, and the A’s lead increased to 3-1.
Werth’s lead-off shot into the left field seats in the sixth cut the deficit to 3-2 and ended Gray’s day. Drew Pomeranz came on and retired the first two batters he faced before yielding consecutive base hits to Bryce Harper and Wilson Ramos, but he escaped the inning when Asdrubel Cabrera flied to right.
After Ryan Zimmerman was announced as a pinch hitter to open the top of the seventh, Dan Otero came on for Oakland, and he induced Zimmerman to ground to Donaldson, but the third baseman’s throw to first pulled Brandon Moss of the bag. The error gave the Nationals a lead-off baserunner and they made the most of the opportunity. Span drew a walk, putting runners on first and second, and Rendon followed with a base hit to left, scoring Zimmerman and leaving runners on first and second again. Werth then singled to center, plating Span and, for the third straight plate appearance, leaving runners on first and second. Fernando Abad replaced Otero, who retired no one, the error notwithstanding. Adam LaRoche greeted Abad by dumping a base hit into center field, scoring Rendon with the third run of the inning. Werth and LaRoche advanced to third and second respectively on the throw to the plate. Ian Desmond followed with a sacrifice fly to right plated Werth, to give the Nationals a 6-3 lead.
The A’s did nothing in the seventh against Jerry Blevins or in the eighth against Tyler Clippard, and continued to trail 6-3 as the game entered the bottom of the ninth. Nationals manager Matt Williams called on closer Rafael Soriano to finish the game. Things began innocently enough, as Soriano struck out Josh Reddick. Pinch hitter Nate Freiman rolled a single into right field, and Norris fanned for the second out. But Jonny Gomes lined a double to right-center, with Freiman holding at third, bringing the tying run to the plate, and Crisp laced his third hit of the game, a double, into the same gap, scoring Frieman and chasing Gomes to third. Now the tying runs were in scoring position. But Soriano induced Alberto Callaspo to ground out to short, to end the game.
Game 4 of the series will take place at the Coliseum tomorrow, with Gio Gonzalez on the mound for Washington and Scott Kazmir due to start for Oakland.
10/24/2014, Was14-Oak14, The Coliseum
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
2014 Nationals 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 6 11 0 8 1
2014 Athletics 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 2 5 9 1 6 0
Nationals AB R H BI AVG Athletics AB R H BI AVG
Span cf 4 1 1 0 .417 Crisp cf 4 2 3 2 .333
Rendon 3b 5 2 2 2 .231 Fuld lf 4 0 2 2 .333
Werth dh 5 2 3 2 .308 Callaspo 2b 1 0 0 0 .000
LaRoche 1b 4 0 2 1 .167 Donaldson 3b 4 0 0 1 .167
Desmond ss 4 0 1 1 .333 Moss 1b 4 0 0 0 .083
Harper lf 4 0 1 0 .200 Lowrie ss 4 0 1 0 .167
Ramos,W c 4 0 1 0 .200 Reddick rf 4 0 0 0 .250
Cabrera,A 2b 4 0 0 0 .273 Vogt dh 2 0 0 0 .000
Frandsen lf 0 0 0 0 .000 Freiman ph 2 1 2 0 1.000
Schierholtz rf 2 0 0 0 .000 Norris,De c 3 1 0 0 .200
Zimmerman,R ph 2 1 0 0 .000 Sogard 2b 2 0 0 0 .125
Espinosa 2b 0 0 0 0 .000 Gomes,J ph 2 1 1 0 .500
38 6 11 6 36 5 9 5
Nationals INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Roark 4.2 4 3 3 2 4 70 47 5.79
Thornton 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 12 5 0.00
Stammen W 1-0 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 13 8 0.00
Blevins H 2 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 13 9 0.00
Clippard H 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 12 7 0.00
Soriano,R S 1 1.0 3 2 2 0 2 20 14 13.50
9.0 9 5 5 2 8 140 90
Athletics INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Gray 5.0 6 2 2 0 4 79 50 3.60
Pomeranz H 1 1.0 2 0 0 0 1 20 13 0.00
Otero BS 1, L 0-1 0.0 2 4 3 1 0 14 9 40.50
Abad 0.2 1 0 0 0 1 16 10 0.00
Gregerson 1.1 0 0 0 0 1 12 8 0.00
Cook 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 12 6 0.00
9.0 11 6 5 2 8 153 96
Was: Zimmerman,R batted for Schierholtz in the 7th
Harper moved to rf in the 7th
Zimmerman,R moved to lf in the 7th
Frandsen inserted at lf in the 8th
Espinosa inserted at 2b in the 8th
Oak: Freiman batted for Vogt in the 6th
Gomes,J batted for Sogard in the 7th
Callaspo inserted at 2b in the 8th
Gomes,J moved to lf in the 8th
E-Donaldson. 2B-Crisp(1), Fuld 2(2), Gomes,J(1). HR-Rendon(1), Werth(1).
RBI-Rendon 2(2), Werth 2(4), LaRoche(1), Desmond(1), Crisp 2(2), Fuld 2(2),
Donaldson(3). K-Span, Rendon, LaRoche, Desmond, Harper 2, Schierholtz,
Zimmerman,R, Fuld, Donaldson 3, Reddick 2, Norris,De 2. BB-Span, LaRoche,
Crisp, Norris,De. SF-Desmond.
GWRBI: Werth
Temperature: 59, Sky: partly cloudy, Wind: out to right at 9 MPH.
Attendance: 35,099
Game Time: 3:08
Game 4: Gio Gonzalez vs. Scott Kazmir, Oakland Coliseum
NATS SLIP PAST A’S, MOVE TO WITHIN ONE WIN OF TITLE
Span Slaps 3 Hits, Drives in 2
OAKLAND, Oct. 25 (AP) – Despite stranding 11 baserunners, the Washington Nationals pulled to within a game of winning the World Series with a 3-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics in Game 4 at the Oakland Coliseum. Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez pitched into the seventh, earning the win in the process. Three Washington relievers combined to toss 2-1/3 perfect innings to close out the game. Denard Span, now hitting .500 (8-for-16) in the series, banged out three hits, stole a base, and drove in two runs for the Nationals. A’s starter Scott Kazmir battled control problems before being lifted in the top of the fourth, but didn’t figure in the decision.
In the third inning, the Nationals broke a scoreless tie, but left the bases loaded. Span led off with a base hit and took third no Anthony Rendon’s double to right. Jayson Werth struck out and then Adam LaRoche hit a grounder to Josh Donaldson at third, who cut down Span trying to score. Ian Desmond followed with a double into the right field corner, scoring Rendon with the game’s first run, with LaRoche stopping at third. Zimmerman was walked intentionally, filling the bases, but Kazmir struck out Bryce Harper to end the inning. The Nationals, at this point, had stranded six runners for the game.
The A’s scored twice in the bottom half the inning. Coco Crisp led off with a base hit to right and, after Sam Fuld Struck out, Donaldson singled to right, putting runners on first and second. Jonny Gomes fanned, but Derek Norris laced a base hit to center, scoring Crisp and advancing Donaldson to second. A wild pitch moved the runners to second and third and Nate Freiman then singled sharply to left, scoring Donaldson to give the A’s a 2-1 lead, with Norris holding at third. Jed Lowrie flied out to end the inning.
After a pair of one-out walks to Asdrubel Cabrera and Span—the fourth and fifth free passes issued on the game—Kazmir was pulled in favor of Jesse Chavez, who retired Rendon on a line drive to right and struck out Werth.
With Oakland still on top 2-1 and Chavez still on the mound, the game entered the top of the sixth. Harper drew a lead-off walk and Wilson Ramos dropped a single into shallow left, leaving runners on first and second. Cabrera dropped down a sacrifice bunt, moving the runners to second and third with one out. Eric O’Flaherty came on to face Span, but the Washington center fielder drilled a single through the box, scoring both baserunners and putting the Nationals on top 3-2. Dan Otero came on for the A’s and retired Rendon and Werth on ground balls, but the Nats had taken the lead.
In the top of the seventh, with Gonzalez still on the mound for Washington, Eric Sogard drew a lead-off walk and stole second base. Crisp grounded to third, with the runner holding, and Fuld struck out. Aaron Barrett took over for Gonzalez and fanned Donaldson to end the threat.
And that was as close as the A’s would come to tying the game. While the Oakland bullpen did its job from that point on, keeping the Nationals scoreless over the final three innings, the Washington relief corps was every bit as effective. Drew Storen retired the A’s in order in the eighth and Tyler Clippard did likewise in the ninth, earning his first save of the postseason in the process.
The Nationals, behind Stephen Strasburg, will try to close out the series in Game 5 while the A’s, hoping to stave off elimination, will send Jon Lester to the mound.
10/25/2014, Was14-Oak14, The Coliseum
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
2014 Nationals 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 8 1 11 0
2014 Athletics 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 0 7 0
Nationals AB R H BI AVG Athletics AB R H BI AVG
Span cf 4 0 3 2 .500 Crisp cf 3 1 1 0 .333
Rendon 3b 5 1 1 0 .222 Fuld lf 4 0 0 0 .250
Werth rf 5 0 0 0 .222 Donaldson 3b 3 1 1 0 .200
LaRoche 1b 5 0 0 0 .118 Gomes,J dh 3 0 1 0 .400
Desmond ss 5 0 2 1 .353 Vogt ph 1 0 0 0 .000
Zimmerman,R dh 1 0 0 0 .000 Norris,De c 4 0 1 1 .214
Schierholtz ph 0 0 0 0 .000 Freiman 1b 3 0 1 1 .600
Frandsen ph 1 0 0 0 .000 Moss ph 1 0 0 0 .077
Harper lf 2 1 0 0 .167 Lowrie ss 4 0 0 0 .125
Ramos,W c 4 1 1 0 .214 Reddick rf 4 0 1 0 .250
Cabrera,A 2b 2 0 1 0 .308 Sogard 2b 3 0 0 0 .091
34 3 8 3 33 2 6 2
Nationals INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Gonzalez,G W 1-0 6.2 6 2 2 3 7 101 63 2.70
Barrett H 1 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 6 4 0.00
Storen H 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 14 10 0.00
Clippard S 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 12 9 0.00
9.0 6 2 2 3 10 133 86
Athletics INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Kazmir 3.1 4 1 1 5 6 73 36 2.70
Chavez,J L 0-1 2.0 1 2 2 1 2 40 24 4.91
O'Flaherty BS 1 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 13.50
Otero 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 17 11 16.20
Abad 0.2 0 0 0 0 1 10 5 0.00
Gregerson 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 14 9 0.00
Doolittle 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 9 7 0.00
9.0 8 3 3 6 13 164 93
Was: Schierholtz batted for Zimmerman,R in the 7th
Frandsen batted for Schierholtz in the 7th
Oak: Vogt batted for Gomes,J in the 8th
Moss batted for Freiman in the 8th
Moss moved to 1b in the 9th
E-Desmond. 2B-Rendon(2), Desmond(2). RBI-Span 2(3), Desmond(2), Norris,De(2),
Freiman(1). SB-Span(3), Cabrera,A(1), Sogard(1). CS-Crisp. K-Span, Rendon 2,
Werth 3, LaRoche 2, Desmond 2, Harper 2, Cabrera,A, Fuld 3, Donaldson,
Gomes,J, Norris,De, Lowrie, Reddick 2, Moss. BB-Span, Zimmerman,R 2,
Harper 2, Cabrera,A, Crisp, Donaldson, Sogard. SH-Cabrera,A. WP-Gonzalez,G.
BALK-Barrett.
GWRBI: Span
Temperature: 58, Sky: clear, Wind: out to right at 10 MPH.
Attendance: 35,039
Game Time: 3:08
Game 5: Stephen Strasburg vs. Jon Lester, Oakland Coliseum
NORRIS’ WALK-OFF HIT SENDS SERIES BACK TO D.C.
A’s Prevail After Blowing Lead Late
OAKLAND, Oct. 26 (AP) – Derek Norris’ single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning scored Nate Freiman to give the Oakland Athletics a 5-4 victory over the Washington Nationals in Game 5 of the World Series at the Oakland Coliseum. The series now returns to Washington for Game 6 with the Nationals leading, three games to two. The clutch hit by Norris breathed new life into the A’s, who saw momentum shift to the Nationals after the A’s proved unable to sustain a 4-1 that they held entering the seventh inning.
The Nationals scored an unearned run off Oakland starter Jon Lester in the top of the second. With one out, Ian Desmond reached first when third baseman Josh Donaldson mishandled a ground ball. After Bryce Harper filed to center for the first out, Wilson Ramos doubled to right-center, scoring Desmond to give Washington a 1-0 advantage.
But the A’s used the long ball to take the lead in the bottom of the third. Coco Crisp and Sam Fuld hit back-to-back solo home runs off Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg, and in the third, Josh Reddick joined the party. His solo blast into the seats in right put the A’s on top 3-1. Brandon Moss made it a quartet when he drove a Strasburg offering over the wall in straight away center field, putting Oakland ahead 4-1. The Moss long ball marked the first time in the postseason that a team had hit four home runs in a game. When Jed Lowrie followed Moss with a base hit, Strasburg was removed from the contest, replaced by Matt Thornton, who promptly hit Reddick to put runners on first and second. Doug Fister then came on and escaped further trouble by inducing Freiman to ground into a double play.
In the top of the seventh the Nationals, who hadn’t managed to get a baserunner past first base since the Ramos double in the second inning, drew closer. Adam LaRoche led off the inning with a base hit off Lester and Desmond followed with long home run to left, pulling Washington to within a run. Drew Pomeranz replaced Lester and avoided further damage.
The A’s were still clinging to the 4-3 lead in the top of the ninth. Ryan Cook was on the mound when Jayson Werth opened the inning with a double, putting the tying run on second and bringing the potential lead run to the plate. Sean Doolittle, who hadn’t allowed a single baserunner in his last seven appearances, came on to face LaRoche, and retired the left-hander on a fly to right, but Werth tagged up and advanced to third n the play. With the infield in, Doolittle retired Desmond on a grounder to Moss at first, with Werth holding at third. With the Coliseum crowd on its collective feet and making a tremendous racket, Harper came to the plate as the last hope for Washington. He took a ball and then ripped a line drive that one-hopped the wall in center field. Werth scored easily to tie the game and Harper ended up on second base with a double. After a meeting at the mound, Doolittle walked Ramos intentionally and then struck out Asdrubel Cabrera to end the inning. But the Nationals had come all the way back to tie the game.
With Craig Stammen on the mound, Lowrie and Reddick were retired easily for the first two outs. But Freiman brought the Oakland crowd to its feet again with a double to left-center. That brought Norris to the plate. He worked the count full and then dumped a base hit into left. Freiman was off with the crack of the bat and beat Ryan Zimmerman’s throw to the plate to score the winning run.
The Nationals will have their second opportunity to clinch the series when the two clubs meet on October 28 at Nationals Park.
10/26/2014, Was14-Oak14, The Coliseum
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
2014 Nationals 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 4 6 0 4 2
2014 Athletics 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 1 5 7 1 4 2
Nationals AB R H BI AVG Athletics AB R H BI AVG
Span cf 3 0 0 0 .421 Crisp cf 4 1 1 1 .316
Rendon 3b 4 0 0 0 .182 Fuld lf 3 1 1 1 .263
Werth dh 4 1 1 0 .227 Donaldson 3b 3 0 0 0 .167
LaRoche 1b 4 1 2 0 .190 Moss 1b 4 1 1 1 .118
Desmond ss 4 2 1 2 .333 Lowrie ss 3 0 1 0 .158
Harper lf 3 0 1 1 .200 Reddick rf 3 1 1 1 .263
Ramos,W c 3 0 1 1 .235 Vogt dh 2 0 0 0 .000
Cabrera,A 2b 4 0 0 0 .235 Freiman ph 2 1 1 0 .571
Schierholtz rf 2 0 0 0 .000 Norris,De c 4 0 1 1 .222
Zimmerman,R ph 1 0 0 0 .000 Sogard 2b 2 0 0 0 .077
32 4 6 4 30 5 7 5
Nationals INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Strasburg 5.1 5 4 4 2 1 84 53 5.56
Thornton 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0.00
Fister 1.1 0 0 0 1 0 11 7 0.00
Blevins 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 0.00
Stammen L 1-1 1.1 2 1 1 1 0 21 12 4.50
8.2 7 5 5 4 1 122 76
Athletics INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Lester 6.0 4 3 2 1 6 101 65 2.25
Pomeranz H 2 1.2 0 0 0 1 0 14 8 0.00
Cook H 1 0.1 1 1 1 0 1 8 5 3.86
Doolittle BS 1, W 1-0 1.0 1 0 0 1 1 19 11 0.00
9.0 6 4 3 3 8 142 89
Was: Zimmerman,R batted for Schierholtz in the 8th
Harper moved to rf in the 8th
Zimmerman,R moved to lf in the 8th
Oak: Freiman batted for Vogt in the 6th
E-Donaldson. 2B-Werth(1), Harper(1), Ramos,W(1), Freiman(1). HR-Desmond(1),
Crisp(1), Fuld(1), Moss(1), Reddick(2). RBI-Desmond 2(4), Harper(2),
Ramos,W(1), Crisp(3), Fuld(3), Moss(1), Reddick(2), Norris,De(3). SB-Fuld(1).
CS-Sogard. K-Span, Rendon 2, Werth 2, Harper, Cabrera,A, Schierholtz,
Reddick. BB-Span, Harper, Ramos,W, Fuld, Donaldson, Lowrie, Sogard.
HBP-Reddick. HB-Thornton.
GWRBI: Norris,De
Temperature: 63, Sky: clear, Wind: out to right at 12 MPH.
Attendance: 34,619
Game Time: 3:15
Game 6: Jeff Samardzija vs. Jordan Zimmerman, Nationals Park
BEHIND MOSS’ 3-HR/6-RBI EFFORT, A’S POUND NATS TO FORCE GAME 7
Samardzija Fires 8 Strong Innings; A’s Smack 19 Hits
WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (AP) – Brandon Moss picked a great time to have a career game. Moss hit three home runs and drove in six, leading the Oakland Athletics to a 12-3 drubbing of the Washington Nationals in Game 6 of the World Series at Nationals Park. The two clubs will meet for a winner-take-all Game 7 tomorrow. Sonny Gray is expected to start for the A’s against Tanner Roark for the Nationals.
The A’s took an early lead and never took their foot of the gas pedal, pounding out 19 hits, nine of them for extra bases. Oakland has now hit 11 home runs in the World Series. Moss has four of them.
A’s starter Jeff Samardzija did everything his club could ask of him, holding the Nationals to a lone run over eight strong innings of work. Samardzija allowed just five hits and walked no one while striking out five. Samardzija’s counterpart, Jordan Zimmerman, didn’t make it out of the fourth inning.
The A’s took the lead in top of the first inning, with Moss, fittingly, supplying the power. Sam Fuld, who, like Moss, finished with four hits, singled with one out and took third on Josh Donaldson’s double. Moss followed with a drive into the bleachers in right-center, giving Oakland a 3-0 advantage.
The Nationals got a run back in the bottom of the inning. Denard Span opened the frame by grounding a single into center field and Anthony Rendon followed with a base hit to right, chasing Span to third. But Samardzija induced a double play grounder off the bat of Jayson Werth. Span scored, cutting the lead to 3-1, but the bases were now clear with two outs. Adam LaRoche fanned to end the inning.
The A’s added to the lead in the third and, again, Fuld and Moss played key roles. Fuld led off with a single to right and, one out later, Moss lined a base hit to left-center, advancing Fuld to third. Jed Lowrie’s sacrifice fly brought Fuld home and increased Oakland’s lead to 4-1.
The A’s ended Zimmerman’s day in the fourth. Derek Norris led off with a single through the middle. After Eric Sogard lined to second, Samardzija helped himself by looping a single just inside the right field line, sending Norris to third. Doug Fister replaced Zimmerman but immediately yielded a base hit to Coco Crisp, scoring Norris to make it 5-1.
Oakland broke open the game with three more runs in the fifth. Moss led off with an opposite field drive that reached the left field seats for a 6-1 lead. One out later, Reddick singled to left and Norris followed with a base hit that left runners on the corners. Sogard walked to load the bases and Samardzija grounded into a fielder’s choice, forcing Sogard at second, but receiving an RBI when Reddick scored from third. Crisp came through again, this time with a base hit to right, plating Norris. The A’s now held a commanding 8-1 lead.
Washington never really threatened again off Samardzija. He retired 10 straight batters after Rendon’s first inning single, then surrendered consecutive singles to LaRoche and Desmond with two outs in the fourth. But Bryce Harper flied to left to end the inning. After the Desmond base hit in the fourth, Samardzija retired 13 of the final 14 batters he faced, blemished only by Rendon’s harmless one-out single in the sixth.
The A’s kept scoring, however. With one out in the eighth, Fuld tripled off Craig Stammen and Donaldson drove him in with a double to left. Moss followed with his third home run of the game, ripping a Stammen offering into the Nats bullpen in right field to give Oakland an 11-1 lead.
Fuld’s fourth hit of the game, a double, scored Stephen Vogt in the top of the ninth, making it 12-1. Desmond hit a meaningless two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth off Jesse Chavez during mop up time to account for the 12-3 final.
The Nationals once held a 3-1 series lead. They now find themselves tied with one last chance to wrap up the World Series. The A’s recovered after dropping three straight Series games and will have a chance to complete the improbable comeback in Game 7.
10/28/2014, Oak14-Was14, Nationals Park
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
2014 Athletics 3 0 1 1 3 0 0 3 1 12 19 0 9 1
2014 Nationals 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 7 0 3 0
Athletics AB R H BI AVG Nationals AB R H BI AVG
Crisp cf 6 0 2 2 .320 Span cf 4 1 1 0 .391
Fuld lf 6 3 4 0 .360 Rendon 3b 4 0 2 0 .231
Donaldson 3b 6 2 2 1 .208 Werth rf 4 0 0 0 .192
Moss 1b 5 3 4 6 .273 LaRoche 1b 4 1 2 0 .240
Callaspo 2b 0 0 0 0 .000 Desmond ss 4 1 2 2 .360
Lowrie ss 4 0 0 1 .130 Harper lf 4 0 0 0 .158
Chavez,J p 0 0 0 0 .000 Ramos,W c 3 0 0 0 .200
Reddick rf 5 1 1 0 .250 Blevins p 0 0 0 0 .000
Norris,De c 4 2 3 0 .318 Barrett p 0 0 0 0 .000
Soto,G pr 0 1 0 0 .000 Cabrera,A 2b 3 0 0 0 .200
Sogard 2b 4 0 1 0 .118 Zimmermann,J p 1 0 0 0 .500
Samardzija p 4 0 1 1 .167 Fister p 0 0 0 0 .000
Vogt ph 1 0 1 1 .125 Thornton p 0 0 0 0 .000
45 12 19 12 Schierholtz ph 1 0 0 0 .000
Stammen p 0 0 0 0 .000
Lobaton c 1 0 0 0 .000
33 3 7 2
Athletics INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Samardzija W 1-1 8.0 5 1 1 0 5 103 77 3.46
Chavez,J 1.0 2 2 2 0 1 11 8 7.71
9.0 7 3 3 0 6 114 85
Nationals INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Zimmermann,J L 1-1 3.1 8 5 5 0 2 56 36 5.79
Fister 1.1 5 3 3 1 1 38 22 10.13
Thornton 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.00
Stammen 2.1 4 3 3 0 2 43 29 8.31
Blevins 0.2 0 0 0 0 2 10 6 0.00
Barrett 1.0 2 1 1 1 1 24 13 4.50
9.0 19 12 12 2 8 172 107
Oak: Soto,G ran for Norris,De in the 9th
Vogt batted for Samardzija in the 9th
Callaspo inserted at 2b in the 9th
Soto,G moved to c in the 9th
Sogard moved to ss in the 9th
Vogt moved to 1b in the 9th
Was: Schierholtz batted for Thornton in the 5th
Lobaton inserted at c in the 8th
2B-Fuld(3), Donaldson 2(2), Norris,De(2), Sogard(1). 3B-Fuld(1).
HR-Moss 3(4), Desmond(2). RBI-Crisp 2(5), Donaldson(4), Moss 6(7), Lowrie(2),
Samardzija(1), Vogt(1), Desmond 2(6). K-Donaldson 2, Lowrie, Reddick 3,
Sogard, Samardzija, Werth, LaRoche 2, Desmond, Ramos,W, Schierholtz.
BB-Norris,De, Sogard. SF-Lowrie. PB-Lobaton.
GWRBI: Moss
Temperature: 51, Sky: clear, Wind: left to right at 10 MPH.
Attendance: 41,155
Game Time: 2:53
Game 7: Sonny Gray vs. Tanner Roark, Nationals Park
TEAM SHUTOUT SECURES WORLD SERIES CROWN FOR NATS
Desmond Bangs Out 2 More Hits, Names Series MVP
WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 (AP) – Tanner Roark and five relievers combined to throw nine shutout innings, leading the Washington Nationals to a 2-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics at Nationals Park in Game 7 of the World Series, clinching the championship. It was quite a change from Game 6 when the A’s battered Washington pitching for 12 runs on 19 hits. Rocked by 11 Oakland home runs in the first six games, Nationals pitchers held the A’s without an extra base hit in Game 7, limiting Oakland to just six singles.
After stranding the bases loaded in the opening frame, the Nationals moved on top in the second inning. Wilson Ramos drew a one-out walk from A’s starter Sonny Gray and, after Asrubel Cabrera struck out, Roark sacrificed Ramos to second. Denard Span followed with a double to left, scoring Ramos with the game’s first run.
Washington added to its lead in the bottom of the third. Adam LaRoche drew a one-out walk from Gray, who struggled with his control throughout his five-inning stint, Ian Desmond followed with a base hit to center, advancing LaRoche to second. Bryce Harper then singled to right-center, scoring LaRoche and sending Desmond to third, but Ramos grounded into an around-the-horn double play, so the Nationals had to settle for a 2-0 lead.
That would prove to be enough. The A’s stranded two runners in the sixth, but had their best chance to break through in the seventh. With Drew Storen on the mound, Jed Lowrie lined a lead-off single to right. Josh Reddick flied to center, but Derek Norris dropped a single into right field, putting runners on first and second with one out. Eric Sogard then looped another base hit to right, loading the bases. Alberto Callaspo came on to pinch hit and the Nationals countered with lefty Jerry Blevins. Oakland sent up Nate Freiman for Callaspo, but on a 3-2 pitch, Blevins fanned him, to the delight of the sellout crowd. Coco Crisp then filed to left to end the threat.
Sam Fuld drew a lead-off walk from Blevins in the eighth, but Tyler Clippard came on and retired the next three batters in order. And in the ninth, Rafael Soriano took over and struck out Reddick and Norris, then retired Sogard on a routine grounder to short to end the inning, the game and the Series.
As the Nationals and their fans celebrated the championship, Ian Desmond was announced as the World Series Most Valuable Player, narrowly beating out Denard Span. Desmond finished with a .393 batting average (11-for-28) with two doubles, two home runs, six runs batted in, five runs scored and a pair of stolen bases.
10/29/2014, Oak14-Was14, Nationals Park
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
2014 Athletics 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 1 8 2
2014 Nationals 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 x 2 6 0 9 0
Athletics AB R H BI AVG Nationals AB R H BI AVG
Crisp cf 4 0 0 0 .276 Span cf 3 0 1 1 .385
Fuld lf 3 0 0 0 .321 Rendon 3b 4 0 0 0 .200
Donaldson 3b 4 0 1 0 .214 Werth rf 3 0 1 0 .207
Moss 1b 3 0 1 0 .280 LaRoche 1b 3 1 1 0 .250
Lowrie ss 4 0 1 0 .148 Desmond ss 3 0 2 0 .393
Reddick rf 4 0 0 0 .214 Harper lf 4 0 1 1 .174
Norris,De c 4 0 1 0 .308 Ramos,W c 3 1 0 0 .174
Sogard 2b 4 0 1 0 .143 Cabrera,A 2b 4 0 0 0 .167
Gray p 1 0 0 0 .000 Soriano,R p 0 0 0 0 .000
Vogt ph 1 0 1 0 .222 Roark p 0 0 0 0 .000
Otero p 0 0 0 0 .000 Thornton p 0 0 0 0 .000
Callaspo ph 0 0 0 0 .000 Schierholtz ph 1 0 0 0 .000
Freiman ph 1 0 0 0 .500 Storen p 0 0 0 0 .000
Abad p 0 0 0 0 .000 Blevins p 0 0 0 0 .000
Gregerson p 0 0 0 0 .000 Clippard p 0 0 0 0 .000
O'Flaherty p 0 0 0 0 .000 Espinosa 2b 0 0 0 0 .000
Cook p 0 0 0 0 .000 28 2 6 2
33 0 6 0
Athletics INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Gray L 0-1 5.0 5 2 2 4 5 91 52 3.60
Otero 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 9 6 10.13
Abad 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 6 3 0.00
Gregerson 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 8 5 0.00
O'Flaherty 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 9.00
Cook 1.0 0 0 0 1 3 26 14 2.70
8.0 6 2 2 5 8 142 82
Nationals INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Roark W 1-0 5.2 3 0 0 1 2 74 50 2.61
Thornton H 1 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 4 3 0.00
Storen H 2 0.1 3 0 0 0 0 16 10 0.00
Blevins H 3 0.2 0 0 0 1 1 16 8 0.00
Clippard H 2 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 18 12 0.00
Soriano,R S 2 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 16 10 9.00
9.0 6 0 0 2 8 144 93
Oak: Vogt batted for Gray in the 6th
Callaspo batted for Otero in the 7th
Freiman batted for Callaspo in the 7th
Was: Schierholtz batted for Thornton in the 6th
Espinosa inserted at 2b in the 9th
E-Abad. 2B-Span(2). RBI-Span(4), Harper(3). SB-Span(4), Desmond(2). K-Crisp,
Donaldson, Moss 2, Reddick, Norris,De 2, Freiman, LaRoche, Desmond, Harper 2,
Ramos,W, Cabrera,A 3. BB-Fuld, Moss, Span, Werth, LaRoche, Desmond, Ramos,W.
SH-Roark. HBP-Roark. HB-Gray.
GWRBI: Span
Temperature: 47, Sky: clear, Wind: out to center at 1 MPH.
Attendance: 41,165
Game Time: 3:20