Yunel Escobar’s 10th-inning walkoff homer off Grant Balfour
officially sealed the Oakland Athletics’ fate Tuesday night at the
Rogers Center. But Escobar’s celebration never should have had a
chance to materialize. Another unraveling by the Athletics’ defense
got the bad vibes rolling in a 7-6 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Just like that, a game that began with promise for the A’s wound up
delivering a punch in the gut as they began a nine-game road
trip.
TORONTO
Yunel Escobar’s 10th-inning walkoff homer off Grant Balfour officially sealed the Oakland Athletics’ fate Tuesday night at the Rogers Center.
But Escobar’s celebration never should have had a chance to materialize.
Another unraveling by the Athletics’ defense got the bad vibes rolling in a 7-6 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. Just like that, a game that began with promise for the A’s wound up delivering a punch in the gut as they began a nine-game road trip.
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The Blue Jays erased a 5-1 deficit with a four-run sixth inning, helped out by errors from Oakland third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy.
Solid defense is supposed to be a cornerstone for the A’s, but they’ve committed a major league-leading nine errors through four games.
They’re 1-3 as a result.
“Errors cost us,” manager Bob Geren said. “You look at the walk-off homer, but it was that four-run inning there when we didn’t catch the ball.”
Despite the circus act defensively, the A’s were primed for a victory after Josh Willingham’s homer in the top of the 10th put them ahead 6-5.
With interim closer Brian Fuentes unavailable because of a blister on his left middle finger, Geren called on Balfour to close it out in the bottom half.
Balfour allowed a leadoff single to former Athletic Rajai Davis. Then he left a first-pitch fastball up in the zone, and Escobar ended it with an opposite-field, two-run homer to right.
“It couldn’t have worked out any better for them, right?” Balfour said. “Hit, bomb, walk off. I’m just mad at myself for not executing a pitch.”
Geren said Fuentes hadn’t been available since he gave up three runs Saturday. Fuentes played catch Tuesday and Geren was hopeful the lefty would be available Wednesday.
The absence of closer Andrew Bailey—not likely to return from a forearm strain until the end of April—is being felt by a bullpen that’s allowed eight earned runs in 10 1/3 innings.
The A’s came out firing offensively with a reworked lineup against Toronto left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes. Right-handed hitters Conor Jackson and Andy LaRoche drew starts at left field and shortstop, respectively, and Willingham shifted from left field to designated hitter as Hideki Matsui sat.
The A’s had six doubles, and Jackson and LaRoche each had two hits and an RBI.
But a 5-1 lead vanished in the sixth. Kouzmanoff ranged left but failed to come up with Escobar’s grounder—the play was changed to a hit after the game but appeared an error—to put two runners aboard with no outs.
After that, Kouzmanoff made a difficult catch of Adam Lind’s foul pop-up near the third-base seats. Davis tagged from third and scored, and as Kouzmanoff tried pump-faking a throw, the ball slipped and he wound up spiking it like a wide receiver.
That moved Escobar into scoring position and he scored on Aaron Hill’s single.
Kouzmanoff later bounced a routine throw to first for an error on Juan Rivera’s grounder, and McCarthy aided Toronto’s rally with an errant pickoff throw.
Kouzmanoff has three errors in four games.
“I have to make the routine plays, and I didn’t make those tonight,” Kouzmanoff said.
McCarthy, who battled shoulder problems last season, made his first major league appearance since Oct. 2, 2009 with Texas. He was charged with four earned runs in eight innings, but his line didn’t indicate how well he pitched.
— Story by Joe Stiglich, Contra Costa Times
