Oak, CA -- Scott Hatteberg continued swinging a hot bat, flourishing since being moved down in the lineup, going 2-3 with a run scored. It was David Justice however, that got the Athletic's on the board first. Graham decided to plug Justice in the leadoff spot today, and on the very first pitch of the game, Justice deposited a hanging curve into the left-centerfield bleachers.
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| Hatteberg coming home on Long's walk-off |
If tonight's game was any indication of how the rest of the season will play out, the Athletic's will be in a heavyweight fight with Anaheim for the division all summer long. Tim Hudson pitched eight innings, giving up seven hits and just one earned run, striking out just two. Despite the great start, Hudson was on the hook for a no decision after giving up a run in the eigth inning to tie the game, before Graham called upon Koch to pitch the ninth in a non-save situation. Koch pitched a perfect inning, lowering his ERA to 1.80 on the season.
With the game tied in the bottom of the ninth, Pena grounded out to first base. With one down, the aforementioned Hatteberg stepped to the plate and had an offering at an 0-2 slide piece hanging over the plate, ripping it towards shortstop David Eckstein who booted the ball off the tip of the webbing on his glove. "Took a funny bounce off the dirt, groundskeeper's here in Oakland do a shit job of keeping rocks and shit out of the infield dirt," Eckstein later said. Hatteberg ended up at third base due in part to the error.
The Angels, with the winning run on third base and one out, pulled in the infield/outfield. Terrence long fouled off eight straight tough pitches to stay alive before getting a pitch on the inside corner, pulling it to the opposite field, falling just in front of a diving Garret Anderson. Hatteberg was mobbed by his teammates at home plate. This win is the Athletic's first walk-off hit this season.
PROBABLE PITCHERS/GAME NOTES
Barry Zito (2-1, 4.05 ERA), taking the hill for the A's tomorrow, will look to forget about his nightmarish last start and get back on track.
Taking the hill for the Angels is a talented pitcher in Jarrod Washburn, however struggling mightily so far this season with a (2-1 record, 7.64 ERA)
"It was a great game for our team, we pulled out a gritty tough win and grinded out alot of tough spots. We played a smart game. Thankfully, we didnt have to dig to deep into our bullpen," Graham said after the game.
Remember fans, tomorrow is kid's day at the ballpark. Round up the lil' rascals and head on down to the ballpark for cotton candy, ferris wheel rides, and free pictures with bubbles the happy clown!
Tomorrow's game starts at 7:05 PT, Hear it on XTRA 860 AM, your home for ATHLETICS BASEBALL!
Tomorrow's game starts at 7:05 PT, Hear it on XTRA 860 AM, your home for ATHLETICS BASEBALL!
BOXSCORE: 2002 Anaheim Angels At 2002 Oakland Athletics 4/18/2002
Angels AB R H RBI AVG Athletics AB R H RBI AVG
Angels AB R H RBI AVG Athletics AB R H RBI AVG
D.Eckstein SS 3 0 1 0 .306 D.Justice RF 3 1 1 1 .276
D.Erstad CF 4 1 2 0 .333 M.Ellis 2B 4 0 1 0 .263
T.Salmon RF 4 0 2 0 .333 E.Chavez 3B 4 0 1 0 .246
G.Anderson LF 4 0 1 1 .236 M.Tejada SS 4 0 0 0 .444
T.Glaus 3B 3 0 0 0 .245 J.Giambi LF 4 0 1 0 .333
B.Fullmer DH 4 0 0 0 .310 C.Pena DH 4 0 0 0 .194
S.Spiezio 1B 3 0 0 0 .250 S.Hatteberg 1B 3 1 2 0 .241
B.Molina C 4 0 0 0 .250 T.Long CF 4 0 1 1 .250
A.Kennedy 2B 3 0 1 0 .310 R.Hernandez C 2 0 0 0 .167
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 32 1 7 1 Totals 32 2 7 2
Angels.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 - 1 7 1
Athletics....... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 2 7 0
Angels (8-7) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA SCORESHEET
R.Ortiz 6 2/3 4 1 1 3 5 1 99 3.54 A1 C9
A.Levine LOSS(0-2) 1 2/3 2 1 0 0 1 0 27 5.87 D1 D7
L.Pote 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 4.76 D8
Totals 8 1/3 7 2 1 3 6 1
Athletics (9-7) IP H R ER BB SO HR PC ERA SCORESHEET
T.Hudson 8 7 1 1 3 2 0 116 3.90 A1 D6
B.Koch WIN(1-0) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 1.80 D7
Totals 9 7 1 1 3 2 0
ATTENDANCE- 23,340 DATE- Thursday, April 18th 2002 TIME- Day WEATHER- Average
UMPIRES- Scott Packard, Jeff Nelson, Derryl Cousins, Alfonzo Marquez
T- 2:36
LEFT ON BASE- Angels: 8 Athletics: 7
DOUBLE PLAYS- Angels: 0 Athletics: 2
ERRORS- D.Eckstein
DOUBLES- G.Anderson(3rd)
HOME RUNS- D.Justice(3rd)
WALKS- D.Eckstein, T.Glaus, S.Spiezio, D.Justice, S.Hatteberg, R.Hernandez
HIT BY PITCH- A.Kennedy
STRIKE OUTS- T.Salmon, S.Spiezio, E.Chavez, M.Tejada, C.Pena-2, T.Long,
R.Hernandez
GIDP- G.Anderson-2
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