Major League Baseball in the afternoon. Is there anything better? The Boston Red Sox had a 12:35 start in Oakland to finish a 2-game series, the only time they are visiting this season. With nothing better to do, I returned to The Coliseum to watch the game.
I arrived about an hour before game time and parked 20 minutes away to save the $17 parking fee. There are a few free spots even closer, but I wanted to avoid the stadium traffic after the game as I had to drive to Stockton.
I then spent some time outside the gates checking if anyone had an extra ticket. I wanted to either sit close for a reasonable price or just get in for free. Fortunately, I found a couple who had two extras and were kind enough to give me one. Turns out the seat was 16 rows up between home and first, exactly where I like to sit.
The Game
Rather than describe the game in detail, I'll just post some pictures.
Gio Gonzalez started for Oakland against Clay Buchholz.
Coco Crisp homered on the first pitch from Buchholz
Hideki Matsui walked but was stranded. Nice unis!
Kevin Youkilis homered in the 4th to give Boston a 2-1 lead
It rained for a couple of innings, during which Jed Lowrie and J.D. Drew hit dingers to make it 5-1 Red Sox
David Purcey's first pitch as an Athletic after being traded from Toronto. He retired all 6 batters he faced.
Crisp singled in a run in the 8th to chase Bobby Jenks
Jonathan Papelbon came in for the 4-out save
Matsui singled and scored to make it 5-3 in the 9th
With runners on first and third, Cliff Pennington pops to Marco Scutaro to end the game
Boston's first road win
This was an entertaining affair with Boston fortunate to pull out the victory. Oakland left 15 men on base, including twice leaving the bases loaded. They had 45 men go to the plate compared to Boston's 36 and still lost.
The game took 3:10 so I had to hurry back to the car to get on the road to Stockton, where the Cal League's Ports were hosting Visalia at 7:15. That post is next!
Best,
Sean
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