Hideki Matsui’s additional inning homer helps Oakland Athletics rout Texas Rangers, 5-4: MLB Update
Oakland Athletics' designated hitter Hideki Matsui had a notable day with the bat as he hit a solo homer in the 10th inning to give the Oakland Athletics a 5-4 victory against the Texas Rangers at the Overstock.com Coliseum in Oakland on May 2.
Matsui expressed his excitement in a jolly mood as he said, “Hopefully after today's game there will be 100 more people.”
Both the teams were scoreless in the first inning. Daric Barton helped the scorecard to move 1-0 for the Athletics in the second inning when he drove a single run with 4 at-bats. However, the Rangers’ players contributed early in the game as Michael Young struck a two-run double while Mitch Moreland and Elvis Andrus both posted a single run in the third inning to put the Rangers on top with 2-1.
Kurt Suzuki was outstanding with his bat as he hit a one-run homer in the fourth inning to tie the scorecard with 2-2. Suzuki went 6-for-16 including five RBIs and two homers in the current season. It was the second home run for Suzuki in the last three games.
Adrian Beltre and Young gave the Rangers a little bit momentum when they scored two runs on consecutive sacrifice flies in the fifth inning and led off the Rangers with 4-2. However, in the same inning, David DeJesus scored a single run to lessen the trail 4-3 for the Athletics. After that, the Athletics' pitchers hammered pretty well to restrict the Rangers’ score for the next five innings.
The sixth and seventh inning passed away without any run on the scoreboard. Then in the eighth inning, Josh Willingham struck a tying home run off the Rangers' reliever, Arthur Rhodes, to level the score with 4-4. The score was tied till the ninth inning so an additional inning was given to both teams. The Rangers were unable to take the lead in that inning also while Matsui hit a tie-breaking homer in the 10th inning and led off the Athletics with 5-4.
The Rangers' manager, Ron Washington, was much disappointed with his team’s performance. He said, “We're not where we want to be but we're not going to panic either. It was real tough. I thought we played hard, things just didn't fall into place.”
The Athletics' starter, Brandon McCarthy, pitched dominantly as he permitted four runs on six hits in six inning pitches. He struck out four batters and gave away just two walks. “We've been up and down through April. To start May like this is something we needed. The bullpen was outstanding. They stood up and got my back.”
All the relievers also threw pretty well as they allowed just two runs collectively in their respective pitches.
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