The Oakland Athletics' recent success has given them the opportunity that they have this weekend, and that is to finally dethrone the Houston Astros from the top of the American League West division. They began that process in thrilling fashion on Friday night, as Matt Olson connected with a walk-off home run in the 10th inning for a 4-3 victory in the series opener against the defending World Series Champions.
The win for the A's pulls them within a game of the Astros, who have been alone in first place since June 14th. What makes this story even more special about Oakland is that they are coming off three consecutive last-place finishes in the division.
Olson's game-winner was his second-career game-winning RBI and first walk-off blast, as Tony Sipp surrendered the long ball to suffer his first loss. It was the 23rd time the the left-handed batter has gone deep this year, and it helped the Athletics overcome a heartbreaking review that stopped them from walking off in the ninth.
It seemed as if Ramon Laureano was able to score the winning run in the ninth on a Nick Matrini double, as he was initially called safe. Umpires claimed after the review that catcher Martin Maldonaldo got the tag down in time, which sent the game in to extra innings. What added to the controversy of that play is that A's manager Bob Melvin believed that Laureano was interfered with at third base.
Either way, the Athletics pulled it off, as closer Blake Treinen earned his sixth win after striking out the side in the 10th. The loss for Houston was their first at Oakland Coliseum this season after sweeping two separate three-game series this year. That was the second-longest such streak in franchise history, behind a 10-game streak from July of 2016 to June of 2017.
The Astros need a victory on Saturday afternoon to remain in first place, but the A's can pull in to a tie on that day, before possibly taking the division lead by the end of the weekend.
The win for the A's pulls them within a game of the Astros, who have been alone in first place since June 14th. What makes this story even more special about Oakland is that they are coming off three consecutive last-place finishes in the division.
Olson's game-winner was his second-career game-winning RBI and first walk-off blast, as Tony Sipp surrendered the long ball to suffer his first loss. It was the 23rd time the the left-handed batter has gone deep this year, and it helped the Athletics overcome a heartbreaking review that stopped them from walking off in the ninth.
It seemed as if Ramon Laureano was able to score the winning run in the ninth on a Nick Matrini double, as he was initially called safe. Umpires claimed after the review that catcher Martin Maldonaldo got the tag down in time, which sent the game in to extra innings. What added to the controversy of that play is that A's manager Bob Melvin believed that Laureano was interfered with at third base.
Either way, the Athletics pulled it off, as closer Blake Treinen earned his sixth win after striking out the side in the 10th. The loss for Houston was their first at Oakland Coliseum this season after sweeping two separate three-game series this year. That was the second-longest such streak in franchise history, behind a 10-game streak from July of 2016 to June of 2017.
The Astros need a victory on Saturday afternoon to remain in first place, but the A's can pull in to a tie on that day, before possibly taking the division lead by the end of the weekend.
