They've done it again!" How's this for an #OpeningDayAtHome game?

quality and depth of their starting rotation. And we'll see one of the guns tonight in Tim Hudson. Yeah. Tim's won four of those of those 20 in our 19 in a row. He's been a solid performer just like this whole Oakland A's club until the streak really pitching him garnered all the attention and when you look at these numbers 15 you know what a two three four. Right. You understand why it might not be easy for the A's to make it 20 straight wins here tonight because Kansas City's A's All-Star Paul Bird a 15 game winner will be on the mound for the royals here tonight but who knows. The A's don't seem to care who they're facing. Roll them out on the field and they're going to find a way to win. Now we welcome you back to Oakland not a cloud in the sky as the A's get set to take on the Kansas City Royals in the final game of this two game series with an off day right in the middle yesterday. What we're used to talking about how the A's don't get any attention here it's all about the Giants here in the Bay Area Tony but right now with 19 consecutive wins I think everybody in baseball all across the country is thinking and talking about the Oakland effort. Mean I think you're right it's easy to get caught up in this street. I mean fortunately the last two victories they come from behind and late any Horowitz and people are generally excited about this team and the witness the people trying to get in. I mean packed house crazy hats short some need a little bit of fashion sense but you know what. He's a fan. He paid his is in the ballpark. More power to him. Here they come the winners of 19 in a row. The Oakland A's right now with a record of eighty seven and fifty one and for the third straight year. A slow start to the season but in the second half of the year the A's appear to be the best team in baseball right now. It all starts with the starters for the Oakland A's Mark Mulder Barry Zito Corey Lytle with that incredible scoreless inning stretch but if you ask people around this team they say this guy is the leader this guy is the heart and soul of this pitching staff. Why would pretty much agree. I mean he's the guy who's been here the longest he's been a tough season him we get off to a slow start but he's turn this thing around and the biggest thing is just following strikes we're going to handicap an ultra competitive guy. Not a big guy but so relax before the game doing interviews. The day of his star which starting pitchers never do and I just saw him walk down for the bullpen after he finished his warm up tosses. He stopped by the seats found a young fan and handed the baseball he was warming up with over the TARP to a kid in the first row. I mean these guys are incredibly good on the field but they're so loose and relax. Maybe it comes with you. I guess so because starting pitchers never do that and you're on and you're right it kind of gives you an indication of just how loose this team is in the one 19 in a row. Well that guy has done a lot of the damage in this 19 game room. He's having an MVP type season 116 RBI. He made All-Star team this year for the first time got a knock on that game. And this is a young aggressive two that believes in themselves even when others didn't believe it. They do have the odd veteran and it seems winning follows David Justice around wherever he goes he winds up in the playoffs whether it's a Yankee Graves Indians and now it looks like the Oakland A's as well. Let's not forget there is another team here in the ballpark tonight the Kansas City Royals. But another tough year for Kansas City just 55 and 83. Michael Tucker the right fielder will be the leadoff man for the royals. Carlos Beltran and then Mike Sweeney coming up behind him against Tim Hudson here in the top of the first inning. Are underway as Henson misses upstairs ball on a first pitch at 7 0 8 Pacific time Chuck Meriweather calling balls and strikes tonight swinging at this beautiful change up there. It's 1 in 1 for DNA A's pitchers do as they're not afraid to throw their off speed pitches behind and it can fall behind when l came back with a great changeup and the one Warren Tucker swung on at the Masters he hits it back up to ninety one it's one and two McCall loose they are oh to be twenty five and and in first place Mark Mulder on the right of that shot there he is showing Tucker everything he's got often came from behind overcame a five nothing deficit on Monday to win 76 McGill to Honda driving in the winning run for the second consecutive game there's seven in one the A's are against the Royals this year in a swing and a miss Ramone Hernandez will have to complete the strike down at first they change no matter where the bottom fell out of it it was not nice block by Hernandez it just three out of four Here's Carlos Beltran the talented center fielder for the Royals having a pretty good season 21 homers he's already got 30 stolen bases the pitch down and in ball one at the top of the order you look at Beltran and Sweeney and the cleanup hitter Rollie Bowen Yes he's had a breakout season this year ninety five RBI is there they're pretty good up top again comparing small market teams the A's and Royals both fall into that category both spend about the same amount of money actually the royals spend more but the game is getting a lot more out of their money right now and for every person that comes into this ballpark the A's can compete a little bit better and the crowds have really started picking up here in the last few weeks as this streak has grown there's Mike Sweeney battling for a batting title in the American League comes in second just to point back to Bernie Williams of The New York Yankees two outs nobody on top of the first inning now here like I normally am early and we'll talk to the guys around. He was headed straight for the for the cage and had some balls off the tee for a power hitter. He's really a good hitter used the whole field very aggressive but under control. Ground ball to short to bounce your fortune harder off balance throw in time and the ending is over three up and three down to the royals. The A's are coming up. When we come back Brad thank you very much. Here in Oakland one two three. He went the royals in the top of the first inning I don't know if it's an omen one a long streak comes to an end as Team USA is beaten tonight does that mean the Oakland A's are in trouble here Tony Gwynn. Nineteen in a row the royals as we mentioned went easily against him Hudson to the top of the first inning the A's are coming up against Paul Bird so if they're going to get to twenty they're gonna have to beat a very good pitcher they are gonna have to earn the third is Kansas City's best pitchers get fifteen wins you've done a nice job in the way Oakland's going right now feel the reasons that the A's have done so well recently some of the midseason pickups it seems every year Oakland goes out and gets a couple of guys to help them that's the case again this year as you can see some of the impressive numbers on the season for bird Ray Durham no doesn't care and he's one of those midseason pick ups that ball goes to the wall and it's rattling around out in right center field dorms on his way to third and he's going to be held there. What a way to get it started and you can feel the electricity in the air here in Oakland germ line this ball in the right field. Michael Tucker tried to cut this ball off and he just gets by him. Then he lost his footing and Ray Durham CNN of course he's just going to go as far as he can go what a boost he has been in the leadoff spot since coming over in the trade from Chicago you know. He wanted to go home. He did. I think when he saw Tucker fall down he was he put his head down and was going to go. Now John Mayberry another guy that was picked up midseason by the A's and it was the Mayberry pickup from Philadelphia in the Jeremy Giambi traded really seem to wake up the open clubhouse right about the same time the A's also sent down three players including Franklin Aquino who had been a regular last year called up three others and all the A's players said you know what. We got a bit of a jolt. And ever since then they have been playing incredible baseball really is hard to figure because three years in a row they've kind of done the same thing where the second half of the season they've just exploded and played great baseball. And so they feel like the trade really woke them up since late May which is about when Mayberry was acquired. They've been loose and happy as you can see you can't you can't get a shot of the clubhouse or the dugout rather without seeing some guys laughing and Art Howe. I mean he's not a big lifer but he's so relaxed he's so even keeled all the time and somebody asked him if he was relaxed today said Sure I Tim Hudson on the mound. Why wouldn't I be relaxed. Well most managers in Major League Baseball would be relaxed for the home really happy. You really have to give art a lot of credit. I mean they were struggling. He didn't really hit the panic button did it. He demanded that they put forth a better effort. But yet he still lets them play. He lets them go out there and do the things that they can do. Outstanding numbers as you saw over the last few weeks for Tim Hudson with Mark Mulder and Barry Zito and now Corey Lytle give the A's probably the deepest rotation in all the baseball sneaking in on the corners of the royals and that once lined in the center fielder base here. So the A's are off and running as Mayberry drives in Durham to make it one to nothing. Fans hoping they're on their way to number 20 as we show you the lineup tonight for the Oakland A's presented by Jiffy Lube Durham and Mayberry have already done their part to harness the guy with the game winning hits each of the last couple of days and let's not forget Eric Chavez who's one of the best young hitters in all of baseball as well. He's kind of hard sometimes because the hot is the last two days especially the last two games especially getting the big hit kind of forget about here Chavez. But what a year he's having to Mark Lee pitch taking just time from bird to heart of the game winning homerun on Sunday. The game winning single On Monday the third consecutive year that he's had at least 30 homers in at least 100 RBI. So although he's getting better and better it's not really like it's a breakout season for John. He's not an overnight sensation. He's been good for a while as he gets there's no question I mean he's been a good player for the Oakland A's for a long time and this year getting a lot more of a lot more attention feel slider he's gonna get away from the ball burn a little bit over three more games. So first and second nobody out Paul Bird the all star really struggling giving up a triple than a single and hitting a batter than the A's for the 16th time in their last 20 games have scored first. Here is Chavez look at his power numbers top 10 of now 10 hottest going to come in the score. And Chavez is on his way to third and it's three to nothing Oakland gets that whammy we were talking about they just know something somehow some way they're going to get a break. JAVIER HAS A NICE PIECE OF in there and he just he just misses it hits him in the front and Two runs score and Chavez is up on bond yields at their houses all the way over to third base. It's a single in and RBI for Chavez and another run scores and he goes to third on the air on a bond. And the Royals look awful early here it's already three to nothing and they're forced to bring the infield in as Jermaine Dye comes up and it would give them sole possession of the third longest winning streak in the history of baseball dating back to the beginning of the modern era which is nineteen hundred the longest ever by the New York Giants in 1916 when they won twenty six in a row. Amazingly enough they didn't make it to the postseason in quarter one and two to die. I just can't begin to explain to you how this quality pitcher's quality closers right field twisting away from Chuck die on his way to second and now he's heading for third and here in the first inning the rounds on already at his forward nothing Oakland guy with a nice piece ahead he got the ball out over the plate and just went with it the right field the third getting the ball up he goes right with it to right field Michael Tucker gives it a great effort but can't get to it looks over picks up his third base coach goes sliding into third good aggressive baseball by O'Quinn first triple of the year for Jermaine Di Paul Bird still doesn't have an out in this game there have already been two triples and a two base error giving the age of four to nothing lead over twenty ornery players aren't the only ones having fun as David Justice comes up just in case you were thinking it was only the young guys who were a part of this streak David Justice is hot getting about 360 over the course of his winning streak. Good baseball do it's kind of contagious when one guy gets gone the other guys get drawn in for in his open team the guys at and with their starting pitching that makes them a tough team to beat Swing and a miss and finally there's the first out of the getting his justice strikes out just chance take a bit of a breather here in the first inning and set the royals defensively we've already seen bombers and Tucker involved defensively Carlos Beltran out in center field coverage a guy who needs his defense because he's around the strike zone of the ball gets put in play a lot against him definitely not overpowering guy but you know usually if he gets in trouble this early in the first couple of innings but when he needs his defenders trying to locate and put balls in a position where his defenders can really help they're hoping that bird has a shot to win 20 games something like Gabe Watson Hudson's ability obviously to do is not going to win 20 this year because he had such a slow start to the season but right about the end of May when the team turned it around. Hudson was one of all of the teams and all the contending teams in baseball the last team they want to see in October. You've got to believe it's that's too slow going to drive a deep center field. Beltran going back in. He's got a good catch there tagging in third his die he'll come in to score a five to nothing deficit to win on Monday have an early five to nothing lead here tonight. That's just that's just good baseball. Gets a ball out over the play goes with it and since Carlos Beltran almost all the way to the winning track that's a nice run and play them by Belcher who makes the catch knows he doesn't have to play at the plate I get it congratulations for his Triple Five and nothing Oakland to add to the batter's Terrence Long the center fielder you've just got to imagine the confidence for these A's is just overwhelming most of them are too young to to know they're mortal and he asked if you felt they're all in their early to mid 20s it seems most of them are signed for a few years that great natural outstanding chemistry and we all realize that winning helps you chemistry but I think chemistry helps you win a little bit I agree and I think Billy Beane in our house deserves a lot of credit for putting this get him to play get him getting them to play Oakland A's baseball is just being selective at the plate but aggressive good starting pitching and even a veteran like Dave justice is jump right in the middle of this lineup and we've done well slashed down the left field line the fair ball into the corner was unbelievable inning continues for the A's as Terrence Long has a double and these guys are making it look very easy gives one of the best pitchers in the American League at all Bert third extra base hit in the hitting already for the A's five nice single running anyway Jeff long stays behind it nice hits it's the left field two out double for long already five runs into the ending and here's the catcher and number nine hitter Ramon Hernandez away ball one Paul Bird is a guy who more than just about anybody in the American League goes deep into a ballgame he's got six complete games this season that leads the league and he is averaging seven innings per starts one of the best marks in the league he may not be around long here tonight left hander Darrell may is up in the pan here in the first inning the usual fight with Paul Bird pitching have somebody up in the first inning think of Matty just really I mean other than the ball being up to the first couple of hitters he's made some pretty good pitches in Oakland has done they've done a nice job offers not trying to pull balls but go with we had a bit upstairs. Yeah. Longo and the other way for his double Di going the other way for his triple Shabazz lining a base hit to left field. Maybe he had a ball that was out over to the lady right back up the box. And the Kohlberg comes into this game with 15 wins already. What an ugly line for him so far the Royals have actually been using off days to skip other starters every now and again to give Byrd as many starts as possible hoping to get him a chance at 20 he's supposed to have five more starts after this one. Hernandez into second base and it is six to nothing. It is just one big party right now here the Coliseum once again ball out over the plate and try to pull it went right with it. Shirt off the wall out and right center ways it put a six plot on the board matter get him in here. Raider mania knew there would be days like these is the magic Kansas City Royals. The A's only once before this season scored as many as six runs in the first inning of the game against Kansas City comes up for the second time in the inning. He got it all started with a triple the right field it's kind of exciting. It really is. You walk into a place and have the fans walking in and inside. I mean with these guys they get a standing ovation when it came out came off the field from batting. They bought into it and the strange thing is that when 19 in a row nearly 3 3 games I mean you got to give credit to the angels in the way that they play to win. It's like some of the players we're talking about today hey we're only three games left without a lot of work to do for I think that has helped people a little bit more focused and a little bit more grounded and not get too carried away with themselves knowing that as well as their playing. They're only three up on Anaheim and they've got eight games left with the angels in the month of September. Left field a bomb is going back. He's got it on the track to end the inning six runs in the first for the A's. It all started innocently enough. August the 13 total domination by court later today I went another Oh my God my will there be 20. They're off to a pretty good start with a six to nothing lead go into the second inning if they win tonight it'll be the American League record for the longest streak ever third ever since nineteen hundred the modern era baseball Israel when Ibanez comes up to lead off the second inning for the Royals Vanya is one of the few bright spots in an otherwise bleak season for the royals who are twenty eight games under 500 Kansas City on its way to its eighth consecutive losing season twenty Newser early on this season with the Royals have their work cut out for them there's a line drive right at the second baseman Mark Ellis one down I'll show you the Jiffy Lube lineup for the visiting Kansas City Royals who come in with the record of fifty five and eighty three they lost 76 here two days ago we've already seen Tucker Beltran sweetie and now Ibanez go against Tim Hudson so on down the line we'll get to look at D Brown one of their bright young prospects they hope who has been called up for the minors here's Joe Randle the steady third baseman for Kansas City hitting two eighty one on the season the royals like the A's hope that the new labor deals going to do them some good. I think everybody thinks it'll do them some good. But it's not going to turn a bad team into a good team overnight or anything like that routine to Hopper to to hot at shore to get six runs given up by Paul Bird in the bottom of the first inning and still some activity as we speak in the bullpen in right video Tony Payne you're talking things over with Paul Bird the starter and I don't know Tony you think he's done probably giving him an option here we'll find out soon enough with two outs and nobody on here in the Kansas City second veteran catcher Brent main comes up hitting 240 on the season flair and the left field is going to drop in a base hit a two out single for Brent man his bat just shattered looking at it just flew it stuck right into the ground with one of those. This one was maybe even out of bounds users Yeah yeah and sometimes with maple you can hit a ball squarely right exactly where you want to hit it and have it just explode on me but that one get this off the air that's off the cup main didn't know where it went but he'll take the base it a two out single for main here in the second inning and the batteries D. Brown who is the D.H. tonight for the royals. It's a pitch up and away at Triple-A this year Brown hit 277. He also suffered a fractured cheekbone a couple of weeks ago. You can see he's got some extra protection there on the right side of his helmet. Just about 10 days. Still has some swelling and he's going to wear that for the rest of the season to protect himself. So does a minor league ballpark just not as well lit as a major league park. He said he never saw the ball a nice bit of pine tar working on it too. He's going to have to go and grease up another inch deep brown sometimes. Sometimes you get hit you get hit with with a pitch you're hitting the game is kind of sometimes it's tough to get back in there and get us protection down for a lot more comfortable up there really like his setup. Probably a little bit easier to regroup when they tell you they're calling you up from the middle of next to the Major. That absolutely helps. Getting a chance to come here at Oakland and we'll try to be a part of the team in the street. That's it for Kansas City this was an opportunity for them for people with what they got going on here. How was talking about that before the game. You know let's not forget the Kansas City Royals have pride and just like teams at the bottom love to knock contending teams out of the playoff picture. He knows the royals would love just as much to end this winning streak. Oh absolutely absolutely. You know they're down 6 nothing. You know they're not going to quit schemes the ball out to short to Hana flip it on to Ellis Ellison the inning is over. We're headed to the bottom of the second. The A's are coming up again already leading six to nothing. Wednesday night baseball on ESPN 2 presented by Jiffy Lube we're here you're here to watch the Oakland A's and what a start they have had tonight getting six runs in the bottom of the first and knocking Paul Bird right out of this game. Needless to say the All-Star shortest outing of the season left hander Darrell Maye who has split his time this year between the bullpen and the rotation comes on for the royals here in the second to face John Maybury the first baseman who's single to run back in the first inning. They spent the last four years in Japan but back in the big leagues this year with Kansas City with mixed results as you can see John Mayberry. You know he gets traded here and plays better here than he did in Philadelphia. Ray Durham gets traded here and plays better here than he did in Chicago for five years. Sometimes it's the young guys not enthusiasm for the game again. And obviously good position good extension. We see that one on follow through. You don't really expect anybody at a ball that far but that position gets way seven nothing open. Miguel Tejada is the batter that was just foul when Suharto was up back in the first inning before he was hit by a pitch. The chant of MVP was echoing around the ballpark. Maybe he doesn't get a chance to play against lefties very often. But with the righty burned out of the game and a lefty you can probably hear it now. You know what these fans feel about Miguel Tejada and there's no question he's an MVP type season at the home. He's driven in the big run made the plays defensively I mean it basically comes down to 24 riders and what they feel what they feel the criteria no matter how you slice it he fits and he's on a team that's in first place he's had a great year maybe some Soriano those Rodriguez zombie votes. Well luckily I think for him it's a nice thing the streak is happening because everybody's going to focus in on this team and get a chance to see what he's really done the last three years to rethink this big sit down the left field line but he pulls it foul again well with the game winning home run on Sunday and the game winning single on Monday kind of reminded me a little bit of Chipper Jones a few right go when he demolished the Mets in September and that was when everybody said wow this guy's the MVP and I wondered the same thing is going to happen for tonight. I think he's going to get his share of votes no. His last two games he got the big hit right there and Suharto is gone for the first out of the Getting history send you back to Brian get it. Let's go over to the National I guess we're a little closer. Division leading cardinals tied up with the red Scott roll and pinch hitting first then she saw reps it out 7 5 there in the bottom of the seven cards put up on the Astros Astros underway with Fox still waiting for all those St. Lewis Houston games that are coming in the next couple of weeks just like we're waiting for the Oakland Anaheim game. L.A. San Francisco games one of the nice things about playing so many games within your own division is that for the most part you finish up the season against teams within your own division and the schedule will get tougher for the Oakland A's aid still to come with Anaheim 6 still to come with Seattle 6 to come with Texas who are pretty good for a last place team three to come against Minnesota. I mean one thing about the schedule is like you said you're gonna bang hands with teams in your division so you're going to win the American League West or the National League West. You're going to have to go through the other teams in the division whether you're playing teams at the top or teams at the bottom. It's still gonna be tough. Chavez chases down all the way back to back strikeouts for Darrell may well look open can keep it up and win their division. I get the feeling the A's and the Yankees are destined to play one another but maybe not in the first round of the playoffs not to knock the twins or anybody else but I mean the way these guys are playing right now are they the favorites in the American League. Lou. That's a tough one. I wish the Yankees vanished. I'm not going to do that. I still think the Yankees are the best teams in baseball but there's no question. Having gone through what they've gone through in the last two years in a playoff getting beat the way they have especially last year leading two games to none. You know this team is on a mission. And I think it's since the All-Star break they've been the best team in baseball they've gone out and pitched well they've hit well they played good defense they're together and they've been able to put together this winning streak. They're going to be a tough team. I don't think anybody's gonna want to play that not only the Angels staying close but I think you're right the fact that the Jays have not advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs they love the streak. Yeah and they're on top of the world and they're confident they're having fun. But I think they realize that you know the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is still to come in October. Absolutely. I think they realize that it's gonna be interesting to see even from the rest of this game because you get up seven nothing as early as they did as explosively as they put six runs on the board. You know you have the tendency to kind of lay back and say OK we've scored seven. You know we can relax a little bit. Die Sky's run down the left field line. The shortstop in the middle there to make the catch and the inning. The A's though add another run to their impressive early lead. John Mayberry his 10th home run of the season seven nothing open ESPN 2s Wednesday night baseball prison by Jiffy Lube Jiffy Lube the well oiled machine and in part by Rocky Mountain cold Coors Light. Cold down easy NAFI Perez leads off the third inning for the Kansas City Royals who are in a whale of trouble right now already trailing the a seven to nothing over with six in the first one more in the second Paul Bird out of the game already and Tim Hudson in addition to being one of the best pitchers around he's a tremendous athlete and he makes a nice place there for the first hour now let's put it to Mike Patrick at the Meadowlands here at Giants Stadium we're getting ready for the start of the NFL season with kickoff weekend and this city is buzzing about giants rookie tight end Jeremy Shockey and comparisons to mark Barbaro it all starts tomorrow on ESPN with NFL Countdown at six thirty Eastern followed by the forty niners in the Giants at eight thirty we're looking forward to that just like we're looking forward to watching the Oakland A's the rest of the way and see what their destiny is this year that we saw dash the second baseman that comes up for the royals or does that in just to 30 on the season. He was released by the Cubs from their triple-A team back in June but again Kansas City without the wherewithal to go out and throw a lot of money around here and they're there you know try to pull some guys off the scrapheap get lucky here and there like the A's have gotten the A's have not only made some shrewd trades and develop players very well a slow bouncer down to 30 easy play for a shot is to get well not to overemphasize the point but it's looking bleak for the Royals right now over their long history at this ballpark when the A's have had a lead of at least six runs here in this ballpark there are three hundred and thirty eight and. I wonder who the two were. I can tell you the two hour better pass Corelli has slid it across the table here's Seattle just last year and the Kansas City Royals but that was 24 years ago they I bet you as Paul split or if one of the great pitchers in Kansas City history all split or was the guy on the mound we're told that game in 1978. Boy they're feeding us information faster than we can handle it tonight one at oh the count on Michael Tucker struck out in the first inning I don't think Tim Hudson is going to let this one get away it's gonna be interesting to watch this team. See how they progressed tonight to discuss you can get into. You can kind of take it easy you can coast a little bit. In watching the way Hudson has gone after Tucker here he is not close to the victor strengthen his staff and his ability will just go out and throw strikes and make quality pitch. That's a fair ball into the corner an extra base hit for Michael Tucker who has himself a two double already in his game really by both sides. We see good hitters hitting good pitches and this is a secret down. Tucker just goes with it the other way and keeps it inside the lying down the left field line and we'll never bring up Carlos Beltran the center fielder who ground it out to second back in the first inning with a mainstay for the royals for the last several years looks like Bill Tron has really kind of really agreed with what Tony Payne has been preaching causes since the break he's really starting to take it up with these numbers right here or more like the numbers that he had his rookie season an impressive seven for twelve lifetime against Kate Hudson as he takes the fastball inside the ball to it he's still a young guy Tim just is coming in to his own. The Royals need more players like this they need they because of the payroll problems the draft is really important and so trying to draft good players is really going to help some of the good players they had whether they traded for them or a draft of them got away. You have to look no further than right field or Jermaine Dye is right now. He's a former Kansas City Royals and a guy who was traded here was Johnny Damon was traded here before leaving and going on to Boston this game goes in cycles though in some of these teams that are down now will turn it around and start to win much like the A's twins and the Expos are hanging in there you know some of these teams with a lot of young players they're going to gain experience and get better because of a great pitch right there. So we that ball in those numbers Ivanhoe in a 1 8. That's his month of August. The scary thing was he wasn't even the best pitcher on this team in August. I know Cory Lidle gave up water and run the whole month and we haven't even hardly mentioned the strikeout number two for Tim Hudson and the ending is over seven. Nothing has gone to the bottom of the ESPN 2s Wednesday night. Baseball presented by Jiffy Lube brought to you by Kia Motors makers of a full line of poverty cars backed by a 10 year warranty program. They're well on their way to number 20 here tonight with a seven to nothing lead on the royals already. David Justice wasn't an active participant back in the six run first inning he struck out against ball bird. Looks like he's going to make up for that though a classic just as swing as he lines one into the right field corner and he's got himself a lead off double. Now this is a guy who has been around the block once or twice with a lot of good baseball team. Sure David Justice's thoughts on a 19 game winning streak been a part of some great winning streaks if you count you know grades go high school those type of things but to do what we're doing or what we have done on this level is just amazing. That's what you said. This love yeah. The big league level I definitely agree. You see it usually you see a quality pitches every night you're playing against quality players or 19 game winning streak at any level. No not in baseball basketball high school basketball Yeah but baseball. There's so many intangibles. Coming from behind plan in your head somebody making a play. Somebody get the big hit that the big league level is just. I don't think anybody can think about putting a streak together like this to count on Ellis who's jam that he fouls it off. It began back on August the 13th here against the Toronto Blue Jays 5 to 4 win. They took the last two of the series from three in a row from the White Sox one form at Cleveland 1 3 in Detroit 1 3 at Kansas City took three from the twins one from Kansas City and trying to finish off this and make it number 20. That is on the road and that's where the end to me is. It's just hard to fathom winning that many games going on a road and sweep on a road trip almost and coming home and just continuing to play good baseball look at the Oakland bench guy like John Mayberry getting big hits a justice terms come over the third in the left field a big hit for Ellis justice is getting the way home the throw. For me Bobby yes bubbled at the plate score to make it to nothing and Ellis goes to second on the play excellent execution by the Oakland A's Oakland being aggressive Ellis trying to go to the right side the first two strikes gets a pinch he can handle base it to laugh bunions charges short hop throw this up the line and main cake here come up with it very aggressive I mean they they're already up 7 nothing they don't have to try to send a runner on a base hit the left field they sent him anyway and the run scores and Ellis good base run it gets the second base with that base hit already every single member of the starting line has reached base and every day with the exception of Miguel Tejada already has a hit in this game and it's only the third inning that's the other thing about this winning streak Tony and because of what a lot of close games they've got a remarkable record twenty six and nine in one run games. But you talked about that road trip they won games 8 2 1 6 to nothing 9 2 3 9 to 1. The three I mean they're pounding today are in there. Well you're right to put runs on the board. And normally we're early in the season the pitching staff kept them in there kept them in games. Now the offense has given the pitchers something to work with and to come right out and put six runs on the board. The first inning with a guy like 10 minutes and. It's going to be tough. This is going to be tough. They played down the stretch that you're going to have to be able to match the starters and be able to shut down the offensive that you're just trying to get. Keep in mind is not trying to just let me know how I got to have the inside part of the plate and that's the thing is as great as things are going on one side of the field is as frustrating as the entire season has been for the team on the other side of the field and this is another long night it looks like for the Kansas City Royals wrecking ball outside with their outburst already here today. The gays have now scored at least six runs in 16 of their last 17 games and that was supposed to be their week right. They lose beyond me they lose Damon they were going to be a team with great pitching the questionable offense supposedly were a team with great pitching and a great offense right now. Right now is when you want to have great offers going into September don't get tired it. Maybe that's why they play so well in the second half every single year. See this is really because when a game like this you're eight now and we get to September and a lot of times you don't get an opportunity to rest. Guys maybe rested the harder for their families after watching the A's working in surgery on Thursday. We're going to continue to address and I'm going to put a many runs on the board as they can and maybe to have a chance to rest the Chavez bullpen disappointing first and second nobody out of running already to make an eight to comes up and drills one deep center field Beltran back and he can make the play back at third base in two runners heading home but then long goes back to third here's the throw got into the plate in a hurry as they headed toward third base but he pulled up at third so Hernandez has his second consecutive RBI double and it is nine to nothing ball is down he goes with it Beltran gives it all he has comes up just a little short but watch the runners Terrence Long played just perfect he's going to follow Ellis Washington route waive an alias and he stops long a third and that's great base running because even if the ball's caught by Beltran Long's gonna be able to get back to first base and walk right up to second base and even if you want you can step on it and step more on third base side of San for the Warriors have you. And again it has a lot to do with winning but have you ever seen a team laugh more and have more fun in the opener. No I haven't. I think a lot of that is just because they're young and they're you know this is I think baseball is supposed to which is really scary damage great face coaching by Ron Washington he weighed the first runner pointed at long millennium no. No you stay here and long had to slide to stop but here they are to get two guys in scoring position and you Raider has tripled and scored and fly down both of those at bats coming in the first inning. You'll get when they make the moves in the middle of the season veteran left handed relievers none of whom really panned out so they picked up Ricardo Renko who figures to help to no avail. Then infielders aren't getting any work done here. The outfielder is getting tired a down. I think it kind of feels random a little bit and from topspin on it couldn't find it. But he does the right thing and holds it so the bases are loaded with nobody out pitching coach John Cumberland to the mound to talk with Darryl. It has been scored a base hit for Ray Durham still nobody out in the ending and already two runs in Terrence Long still at third base Ramone Hernandez who already has two doubles in this game and he's in second there's Ray Durham in first baseman. And here comes John Mayberry who is up again every single day. Was a nice number 315 10 and 41 really and part time duty. A hundred and sixty at bats missed a chance to show Hart how he can handle left handers to Avery playing first base tonight for Scott Hatteberg who gets most of the time there demanding that his Hitters hey be aggressive be aggressive. But once you hit him straight that's pretty much what they've done the math. They've gone the other way. Cold calls they've been aggressive never chased anything the atmosphere of a carnival yes ballparks. Doesn't it Mr. Mays going to happen. He's going to have to eat some innings here and if nobody up in the bullpen because it Sunday night Monday night Monday night. The Diamondbacks against the Dodgers or the Dodgers beat him 19 to the Darryl May for Arizona was left hander Eddie or Pacer who had to stay out there and give up 10 runs in an inning and two thirds and the Dodgers had a night just like the A's are having now everything they hit they hit hard he's got another reliever up in the pen right now right hander Blake Stein like the royals have not cold up their September players you have to wait till they go home on Friday before they're still playing with by September standards a small roster waiting until you get higher soccer game feeling here tonight swung on the ground ball down to first they're coming home for the course at the Lexie decision they're Sweeney come into the play and he gets them to Hopper decides he's gonna come home with it makes an accurate throw to the plate he gets a speedy Terrence low I don't think there's any doubt who the fan favorite is right now. Huh. Go here. You got to love Hitler in this situation. Bases loaded one out right hand hitter facing a left handed pitcher in the face is a chance to pad those numbers. Those numbers are good enough only Alex Rodriguez has more RB eyes five more a rocket 121 to heart about a hundred saying what has taken to heart to a new level his ability to lay off the bad pitches so he makes sure he gets some good pitches. This was the game winning home Eddie Guanajuato on Sunday that extended the winning streak to 18 and then on Monday the base hit up the middle of Jason Grimsley another game winner to extend the winning streak to 19 the it was against a five man infield he hit it so hard at a guy in the middle who didn't have a chance to make a play about Hernandez the base runner who is a catcher maybe with a nine to nothing lead the A's don't want to rub anything in here against the Royals so they missed out on a chance to add another run like Hernandez was a little bit upset because I think he really wanted to go in if Randy could have put that ball off he might have been able to make a tag there but what it does cause it to hot on a beer her want to get him RBI guys to help him out in the MVP run absolutely they want to see their guy deeply from the batter's Chávez bases loaded two outs now nine nothing Oakland Bazemore with RBI simply in the first he struck out in the second and a big change forward to Hoda appeared to come about the time that he was moved to third in the lineup with Chavez hitting behind the Mets went to how to really took off a lot of things happen at the same time that Jeremy Giambi trade a series of players getting called up and said pretty good pitch by me down in the zone Chavez is a little out front just kind of flips it in the right field and that happens sometimes when you when your hands are taking the right path sometimes you can you can you can do that to a ball. It's not textbook but when you take the base it take it to a will. That gives him a hundred on the season to harden his second in the league in one hundred and sixteen Chavez is seventh in the league with one hundred two pretty young player around for a long time no pitching staff is going to be around for a long time they're all locked up in I believe to harden will be the next one. Exactly. He is a free agent at the end of next season. Foul ball racing at Sweeney deep down the line and the A's already have Chavez and Mulder and Hudson and Zito and home and die and Hernandez all signed for at least two at least 2004. But to how does the big one. He's a free agent after next year and he has just sent his his value off the chart. Yeah. Well you see I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing for General Manager Billy Beane because you know you don't have a whole you can't break the bank but you definitely like to lock him up and take care of him and know that he's gonna be here for five years. Two and two the count on die. Sometimes you need your team based it to sell that help sell that for you. When all these other guys are locked up I mean to me to me there's your MVP candidates. Numbers I mean A-Rod is 48 homers standout but the RB eyes are almost identical almost identical. You can't knock the contributions to heart is made for the A's. Soriano for a week for Randy in the inning is finally over but it's another big one for the. Well it seems like it's pretty much a fait accompli at this point that the Oakland A's are going to set a new American League record with their 20th consecutive win. Who knows when or if they will ever lose again. They've got an 11 nothing lead on the royals and I think we're going to need a rally monkey here tonight Kansas City hopes were wrong but let's have been sharp for pit bulls. For their offensive an unbelievable twelve hits in three innings just about a month earlier this season with injuries one still has enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title and I guess other than he Banias breaking out this year the best news for Kansas City fans this season and it happened way back at the end of spring is that they signed Sweeney to a long term deal which obviously is of great concern just like you know Giambi here last year. But Sweeney is the guy that the royals had to keep in really productive within the last finds himself in a dogfight really for the American League batting title Bernie Williams himself and each row came came and came into the game being a point behind his over Lonzo with a three thirty nine but he's in a situation he's got to swing the bat he's going to get an opportunity to be the one to count on Sweeney interesting clause in his contract that's all. It's a sign of the times if the royals finished below five hundred in both of the next two seasons. Get out of the deal. So it's in their best interest to get better. Just keep him grounded foul 2 and 2. That's it for a lot of players that's just protection for kids. I think he likes Kansas City. I think he's happy. You sign a long term deal. You're going to be there for a while and just here recently. These different type of clauses have come up and contracts and it just gives them an out just in case something should happen. Top up for the second baseman Ellis Jackson making it look easy so far. One down as we send you back to Brian Cowen. Dan let's go to the NL Central start of the day. Astros 4 back behind the cardinals and here Ron again grunts Is this ball with the 1 nothing lead. Solo shot the 17th in here to nothing in the top of the six it was five nothing reds now it's ten five cards they're in the top of the ninth. By the way Tony Birdie 0 three hitting 340 now Mike Sweeney here 0 4 2 so birdies probably still got just a tiny lead over Mike Sweeney gets the American League batting race here's Ibanez who lined out his first time up well you keep waiting for the Astros to make some kind of a move and now they just just can't get it. We had that real hot streak there where they went from 8 from 9 10 games back to being right there in the thick of it and you think OK there they are now hang on push it over the top but just haven't been able to get their again still seven games remaining between St. Louis and Houston during the regular season two to rebound yes down and away he touched on it earlier the Bonnie is just kind of come out of nowhere and had just a super year for Kansas City that really has established itself middle of me he's sitting under two hundred now he's up over to and he's going to drive 100 runs this year which would be almost as many as he had in his entire big league career coming into this season No.4 sometimes it for a guy like he mind is just getting consistent at bats can make all the difference in world No.1 you get me in the lineup everybody takes a low full count lost in the shuffle of some of the races or the seasons that a player like Ibanez in Kansas City Mike Williams in Pittsburgh we didn't go to the All-Star game but what a season he's had Tomo Oka to Montreal has won 13 games and pitched extraordinarily well there's great stories even on some of the teams that are way out of it lined into center field it'll drop in the base hit in front of the long one out single for Ibanez back to Brian Kennedy. Now let's go to the National League now Colorado and San Francisco is the Giants in the wild card hunt Benito Santiago out to right field Jeff Kent on third. We got to play to the plate Larry Walker to throw it like he's flipping over a motorcycle. No he's back in. He was all right by the way. Nothing in the fourth. Realistically the Giants really setting their sights on the Dodgers although they've got a big series coming up with the Diamondbacks and the Dodgers and Giants will have seven games left against one another. Joe ran to the batter for the most part it's the Western divisions where most of the action is going to be in the month of September to looks like it. This American League West race really has been amazing. I mean Seattle is on top for a long time Anaheim took the lead for a little bit. Now Oakland's gone in for a round ball based sit in the left field for Randy Ibanez up to second on the play. Now speaking of the Giants you'll get a chance to see them at ten thirty Eastern 730 Pacific Friday night on ESPN as they host the defending world champion Arizona Diamondbacks scheduled starters Miguel Bautista and Kirk readers. Markets will see Houston and Los Angeles the Giants to two out of three and a weekend series in Phoenix from the Diamondbacks and the only game the Diamondbacks won they had a comeback in the late innings and win it in the bottom of the ninth. Arizona struggling a little bit the last week and a half strike taken by brand name gave these other teams some life L.A. San Francisco got it both in one series from the WHO's down to get a ground ball to second Ellis into hot drops it and everybody is safe assuming the air is on to how to there that would be his 19 of the season leader it looks like a tailor made double play flip was OK. Really there's a long flip but it's it's a good position to how to just kind of close his glove before the ball get there maybe thinking too before he got one so that's his 19th air of the season the bases are loaded with one out for the designated hitter D Brown swing and a line drive into right field to base it in front of Di. This is going to bring two runs home Brown's going to stop at first made around to thirty Banias and random score and it's eleven to two deep brown wasn't going to wait around this time he got a pitch to hit pulled it in right field knocked himself in two runs low stride just a novel a bathroom first hit and RB eyes with the big club this year for deep brown and the royals are on the board now at eleven to two first and third one out Navy Perez coming up sure John Mayberry was over there at first telling DB around that it's not that easy son you've got not against the staff in looking for his 13th win of the season now smoked up the middle of a center field a base it for Perez main will score ground stops hit second and it's 11 to 3 just like that. Kansas City split three runs on the board and they put him on the board pretty aggressively swinging at the first pitch getting the pitch early in the camp this is that fastball s up and out over the plate it's right back where it came from. Probably a good idea there by Hudson looked like he was going to try with the bare hand but then he dropped his arm and tried to make a swipe catch with his gloved hand just want to keep him healthy now and stay on top of the AOS three games up on the Angels Luis Ordaz is the batter from the stretch Hudson works on the pitches up and into Ordaz Hudson's kind of an interesting story and how he got to where he is again he's not a big guys about six foot 270 pounds when he came at a high school he was undrafted wasn't big didn't throw that hard went to a junior college for a couple of years and then wound up at Auburn where he was not only an outstanding pitcher but a great hitter as well when 15 and two as a pitcher and hit almost 400 as a center fielder in a tough car offense to the SCC as you see you got guys like Darren Dreyfus who great as a pitcher and hitter John all through Todd Helton was a strike two and one kind of get the feeling that he made or the A's made the right career choice on his behalf by telling him to pitch in the big leagues Well let's see if you're a pitcher and you've had success hitting you always whether you get the opportunity or not yet. And you know what he probably came because thing about this ace staff is that they're athletic not only are you were playfully they feel their positions well they swing the bat a little bit they can run a little bit that's as well he's run into some trouble area and a fourth in and he's been pretty sharp for tonight he's got more wins the last three seasons than any pitcher in the American League 50 next closest is Mulder his teammate with 46 the 3 1 2 hour dad swung on and popped into shallow center field. A play for Terrence Long two down that's one difference when you look at the staff's right now. The three division leader of Minnesota although they don't have an old style. They've had Mays on the DL Radtke on the DL Milton on the DL the Yankees in part because of age you would think a little bit of Clemens here a little Pettitte there the little Duke a little Wells none of them have been completely healthy this year but these guys are healthy he's open starters and starting pitching is bigger reason as any that the A's have won 19 consecutive games do that starting staff VRA over the course of the street. You mentioned the big three but don't forget Corey lied on it too. He's been unbelievable. Tucker goes the other way again and he's got another hit and another runner will score Now Perez hits third and he's getting the wave home and he's going to come into score so Tucker doubles in a couple. And the Kansas City Royals have scored five runs here in the fourth inning off Tim Hudson so if you're Tony Payne Yeah you got to love this even though your team calls 911 and nothing. The third in and they don't quit they keep pecking away and in a game especially this early in the game you can peck away they put a nice five spot here in the fourth and then gets them within six. Michael Tucker second a bee in a row didn't try to pull it hits it the other way this ball got into the corner Dave just tried to cut it off right there couldn't get to it failed down and him fallen down and fallen down allow this NAFI for is the score Tucker thought about going to third and they hit the brakes he tried to cut that ball off and he kept getting calls down plastic bottom shoes slipping over there and cuts trouble for justice the the air by McGill to hard to remember this inning has led in part to this five run uprising by the royals and even on Monday went to how to hit the game winning single the A's were down early five to nothing because an error by to Hoda led to three unearned runs eleven to five open leads Carlos Beltran is the batter this is the error here he should definitely have had one and if he catches it Tony he might've had two I think he turns two if he catches it and for whatever reason kind of closed his glove before the ball got there and you can bet he's standing there thinking about hey this is this is my fault I mean I made the error that opened the door strikes a cut on Beltran and Fernandez loses the match I know there's a mass there but for. For protection. But that joke still has got smaller and a little bit more than it is. Looks like it looks like. People shrug it off. Hey that's what they claim here to grab. Getting back to over the no to count on Carlos Beltran and he got a good pitch there by Hudson away. Kansas City is on the board in a big way scoring five on Hudson here in the fourth inning. Now that was a rude now it just has the makings of a wild one here tonight 11 to five open leads in the bottom of the fourth inning try to extend their winning streak to 20 which would be a new American League record would give them sole possession of the third longest winning streak in the modern era of baseball dating back to nineteen hundred. David Justice leads off the fourth. He struck out of the first doubled and scored in the third mentioned to me Elton. How did the only eight without a hit tonight was also his error that led to three unearned runs in the top of the fourth innings. Pop up in the shower right center field and backhoes or does for the first out as we send you back to Brian Kenny. Oh darn things looking good for the Cardinals first. We'll start things off in Houston in San Diego. This is Sean Burrows. Remember him would be seen on pre-season Rookie of the year many thought the National League first RBI since being called up in September call up its three nothing Padres and it's the final cardinals take the Reds 10 5. Tino Martinez and Albert Pujols both 3 4 4 6 scoreless innings from the bullpen their 10 run. I think Albert Pujols another guy who's going to get MVP consideration over in the national league. Mark Ellis the batter although again you look at Barry Bonds his numbers and unlike Alex Rodriguez Barry Bonds is at least playing on a contending team whether they make it. Who knows but who knows will certainly get some votes. I think it gonna be interesting to see both of these bonds is having the best not winning his team at least at this point. I think that's going to be a factor here. That's going to be the biggest factor. I cosponsored foul the ball and two strikes going to be the biggest factor in American League is the fact that other than A-Rod all the rest of the candidates are in the thick of things. How does not having one of those nights so far tonight Dallas pops it up at a right center there along with Tucker Beltran who makes the catch for the second out now the 2002 NFL season kicks off tomorrow night on ESPN coverage starts at six thirty p.m. Eastern as his life presents a special edition of NFL Countdown at eight thirty p.m. it's the 49ers against the Giants ESPN and ABC. Your exclusive home for prime time football. Less than 24 hours away parents long the batter has since when foul. Left side would want to count on Terrence Long who has doubled and what we'll all get another look at his Oakland A's Sunday night again here on ESPN 2 part of Sunday Night Baseball they'll be up at the Metrodome in Minneapolis art houses taking on the twins one of the teams they swept during this 19 game winning streak there it is now the tie. We should talk about the tie at some point in that giant streak the 26 game winning streak for the Giants back in 1960 remarkably was all at home. Hope they had a 30 game it you get. You think the scheduling is goofy now. Yeah it was all at home but again they didn't make the playoffs. The tie was in the second game of the doubleheader after 14 innings it was rained out. Tied at once so the stats held up in the game technically officially goes as a tie. I know that that detracts from the street ball back to the man. Nice play by me. Bad throw but they make the play over at first and the ending is over as the A's go 1 2 3. The NFL season begins tomorrow six thirty Eastern Time with NFL Countdown. You see our crew there of a barge a thousand Susan Collins and Terrell Owens it'll be the Giants and the forty nine it's eight thirty Eastern tomorrow evening. You know Dan and Tony have sort meeting golf course a little bit earlier. Oh yeah. That's the headwear we wear at our meetings. Before Wednesday night baseball at least in Oakland 11 to 5. The A's lead in front of a crowd. Get this fifty five thousand five hundred and twenty eight the largest regular season CROWD IN Coliseum history from there. Notice the A's out here now Wednesday nights. They do have a promotion. There's some of the tickets thousands of them the ones up in the top level are available for just a dollar. So that helps and that's one of the reason one of the reasons why more than 20000 of the tickets sold today were walk. We're talking about that out there on the field today there in batting practice. Too many empty seats is way up in the upper deck way way up in the upper deck. We call that section up there Mt. Davis. It's a tough seat. Tough to see the agent from way up there. But man's got his broomsticks up there he's letting the world know we're going for a sweet get a case of the yips between the two of them out there. Justice and long may have heard footsteps and that ball drops in the hive. Little pop up. Justice thought long was going gonna call it long thought justice was going to college falls in the justice looking over law and now we're going to try to come back and make it like can do and and really the center fielders is the guy who's gonna take charge at hair's long done that that's a hot air sloppy D here allow Sweeney here is he Banias who Singleton scored his last time up for sweet he's gonna take that. It in third to compete for a bad title electric as this place was in the first couple of innings all of a sudden now they've overcome deficits they've won in every imaginable way they're not going to end the street in a game in which they lay eleven enough that Kansas City has something to say about it they would love for USA lost to Argentina did it so maybe it's tonight where long streaks and unthinkable things streaks come to an end and the unthinkable actually happens. One end to the count on Ibanez because like we talked about earlier I think Tony was just really happy to see his club not quit. It could be it would be easy being down 11 nothing to just say hey we unpack this one end but they're not doing that. They're battling for a five spot in the fourth inning and then come back and get a one to come to winning which they had a against one of the better starting pitchers in baseball uses up their bat. We've talked about this his last at bat we're just getting the chance to be in the lineup every day and getting some at bats every day. And if somebody believed that you know believe in you he's really come a long way from as many players do. He did a number on his former team to the Seattle Mariners when the Royals played the Mariners this season really hit them while I've never been traded but I've seen that happen an awful lot. Extending that winning streak to 20. Here is Oakland closer. Billy Cox and what it would mean to set a new American League record. It'd be nice to have you know have a record under our belt. I mean I don't think anybody really wants to tie a record and I think we're going out there and in the hopes to win. I mean I think it's really cool. I mean it's a it's the thing that that would that we can strive for now. I mean you know you start winning you win six seven eight in a row you know you're not you're not thinking down the road this far and I just I think we think about you know before the game on our way to the ballpark. And then as soon as we get here it's like saying please take the field. It's like let's let them play and have fun. I mean that's the biggest thing. But it's having a lot of fun out there and it shows conscious been involved in the last four games before the off day yesterday. He had two saves and two wins the last one in the last couple. They had to pick him up. Yeah. He'd been shutting the door for everybody else to give up the home run on Sunday and then to hot to hit the three run homer to win that one. Did he get in trouble the next day on Monday and coaxed a ground ball double play to get out of that end. So there's been a total team effort on his open side. Could be lights out sometimes he can be a bit of a wild ride sometimes arthouse just before the game did Billy Cox need the off day yesterday and I said not as much as I did the day off from watching him yesterday. But then he went on to say hey the guy's been incredibly sad. He's had a great year this year. And like I said he's been a team effort on the on the Oakland A's Park everybody contribute and everybody doing their share the cakewalk game where everybody can breathe easy and relax and sure there was some one run games in there where you had to really battle and sweat it out. But everybody can take it away from here they are 19 they've won 19 games in a row. You can say they've played some 500 teams or they've done this or done that they've done something nobody's done in 50 years. And this ball is going to drop in. And Sweeney read it well off the bat as he slides into third there are a couple of great plays right there. That you just really have to see the Sweeney read that ball right off the bat and he was gone. First the third floor. So Susan ball was hit by the pick and Eric Chavez just made her third base on the throw by David Justice. Well justice comes in gets this ball on a second hot Sweeney's read it right from the bat and licking a pig by Eric Chavez right. What a great big mo was right on top of it like it was enough first and third for the royals. This is going to get awfully interesting and they can scratch out a couple more here this morning. Brent Maine is the batter and he's won four to sign of any activity in the open pen. And again this is worse than it should be for Hudson given the to hot air last inning what's happening here. The royals are starting to get some confidence in nothing and nothing to do there so any better than to come back from 11 nothing deficit and find a way to win this game. Passes no ESPN 2. Wednesday night baseball presented by Jiffy Lube a packed house here at Network Associates Coliseum better than 55000 they were delirious early with an eleven to nothing lead there a little bit nervous right now as the royals got five of the four the nice 4 6 3 double play turned by the A's to end the top of the Fifth so the A's still with a six run lead as they try to run their winning streak to twenty Hernandez coming up against Darryl man here in the bottom of the fifth inning Hernandez two at bats two doubles to RB eyes kind of an unheralded part of this Oakland team that is pitching everyday catcher is there isn't baseball this guy's in the lineup a lot he's really been productive tonight with two doubles going the other way and he's the guy in charge of the pitching staff in order balls and a strike on Hernandez back to the top of the order for Durham and Mayberry after him Maye got the A's one two three he's to say he just be his last it and was sharp with one two three and now after not scoring in the top half in and the last thing you want to do is give him opportunity off the middle back Candida by your dash long throw. Did Sweeney get it clean he did and Hernandez just retired one down play all the way around or dies goes a long way up the middle again it Sweeney would a nice pick that's a play where you see a lot of second baseman turn and jump and throw that he knew Hernandez doesn't run that well and he just made a nice throw over there Sweeney with a nice pick at first and now Ray Durham comes up and takes us slow breaking ball in there for a strike there are two for three tonight. He is tripled and singled for how he fits in in the clubhouse he's a little bit older and whereas it's a bit of a frat house and their terms more of an intense individual I think than most of the A's at least on the surface. But he has given them something they needed a lead off hitter he came over he said you know I'm not so sure about DHEA. I'm a second baseman and he wasn't sure about hitting leadoff there was even talk about trying him in the outfield. But he has D.H. and led off and done what Art Howe has asked him to do. And I guess when you're winning you'll do with the manager s o f to deal with it will bother you quite as well yeah. You know you nineteen in a row if he asked you to go out and play defense for one half an inning you're going to want to do it. You you want to be the guy who's rocking the boat out a 19 and 16 years right. Swing and a miss and Durham is going to do well on the other hand I think you got to go. Art Howe a lot of credit too because oh man made berms and everyday guy wants him in there every day and whether it's playing second or D.H. in a play in the outfield. See Oakland is turning it up a notch. After the 67 and 25 VRA drops a whole point runs almost a home run a game better May the 22nd the day before that great run for the Games began was the day they picked up John Mayberry in the trade for Jeremy Giambi and again that's not the only thing they did. They moved to how to do the three spot they sent down Carlos Peña and Frank meant Aquino which was a surprise within that clubhouse and Jeff tan Mayberry came over and started hitting for power right away is over to get a homerun here tonight is 10th as a member of the A's as a part time player and it looks like well the A's have retained that that good natured clubhouse atmosphere that they've always had that on May the twenty second or twenty third when they really shook up the team again it opened some eyes on the Oakland scene that Art Howe and Billy Beane meant business absolutely ground ball to the right side Sweeney covering and that's the inning seven in a row sit down by Darryl Maye and we're through five still eleven to five back for the top of the sixth inning here in Oakland where for the last inning and a half or so things have calmed down a lot it's still 11 to 5 Oakland as the A's look for their 20th consecutive win Tim Hudson facing D Brown two run single back in the fourth inning overall one for two. By the way between innings on the video scoreboard out in left field they were showing highlights from some of the out of town games that have been played tonight. Including Jason Giambi whose home run against the Boston Red Sox and when they showed that they booed Hirono. Fifty five thousand people booing still upset that he left and went to the New York Yankees and wouldn't the fans here love to get another shot of the Yankees in the playoffs. He remembers how close they were to knocking out the Yankees just last year even though the big slugger here is now there. I think there's just overwhelming confidence in this town that the A's would go in there with at least a 50 50 chance of winning the look feel like they were a slide away from getting to the next. For a great play by Derek Jeter that that's exactly where they would have gotten to now a year later a lot of people feel like this is going to be the team to beat man who's trying to shake off that getting in again. That's an eighty one pitches here into the sixth inning. That's a that's a good number. But he racked up a lot of pitches in the ending that they put the five runs on the board on the air. But the harder Two balls two strikes to Brown followed by nephew Perez and then Lewis or does the bottom third of the royal lineup he came up with a big rbi single last time up as well chased it in the dirt. No chance of strikeout number five for Hudson right. That's why you liked Hudson because he isn't afraid. He worked both halves of the plate. Looks like a split starts it in and then if you're a left handed hitter he'll start that fastball in action run it back over the inside part of the plate. Brown had faced him at all. And so sometimes you have to learn on the fly and spunk thereby Paresh events move in quickly again there's that communication letting him know he made a great play Manthey with a perfect plenty put it right where he wanted to put it Chavez has cut it off and a little trouble getting rid of it when he got his gold glove award winner last season Eric Chavez. Boy that is bang bang at first base two outs in the inning nobody on the batter would be a loser dies he's only 23 years 24 years old. Like a lot of these young guys they've had experience. They've played at the big league level and getting the chance to learn the ropes. The other thing that Oakland did because they they know they've got to keep churning players out of that system like the free agents they lost last year. Damon Giambi they stockpiled all kinds of drama. So here they go. Here comes the next wait and see to me that's that's the way to do it. I. You know in this environment of high payrolls and you know nobody wants to be at that point especially for the market teams you don't win. You can't survive on a 50 60 so you've got to draft wisely. You've got to spend a little extra money on your draft because those are the people we're going to take the places of those people who end up going somewhere. Ground ball to short to how to do his left. One two three. Go the royals Eric Chavez with a good D and we'll see him up second Brian Kennedy here in the studio Dodgers losing already today says San Francisco fans could get within a game and a half years. But Larry Walker drive it in a run puts the Rockies up on the top 2 1 in the sixth inning. Houston they can pick up ground too. But Brett Tomkins seven innings of shutout baseball so far it's got nothing in the top of the eight. Dan with the Astros start to run out of time with St. Lewis winning earlier today here. Oakland tried to extend that winning streak to 20. Got an eleven five lead on the royals. Bottom of the sixth inning and Abigail to hot up pops up. The first pitch right out is going to handle it himself and his eight narrow set down by May and Shehata is now 0 for third 0 4 3 officially having a frustrating night having committed the errors well earlier. You don't see this in the game very often the pitcher making a catch on a pop up but it's hard to get jammed with that ball there wasn't enough time for either the first baseman or the third baseman to get in there or make the play. And so they made it himself. Eric Chavez the batter and he is a big league ballplayer should be able to catch a pop. You should but if you go to spring training and they do the pop up drill the pitcher's job is to yell out who's gonna make the play. He didn't want any part of good night for Chavez. We saw the good defense last half inning he's also got a couple of hits and three RBI tonight giving him 100 on the season soon as he gets a little bit more patient at the plate laying off that pitcher and that's exactly what I'm talking about you know. He's struck out earlier tonight on a ball it is a breaking ball it was a running away from him. When you see him shaking his head he he knows what's going on. And you just need to be selective just with this guy that Bosley talks about swinging strikes right another pitch it wasn't a strike and Chavez is gone. That's five strikeouts for Darrell. He's done a really nice job last couple of minutes. He really is. This is a fastball up in an embassy seen a steady diet of break was kind of pulled off on and he just followed through with this that's one of those just kind of just shake it off and get him the next on nine in a row sit down by me is Jermaine Dye comes up now with a triple in an RBI in the first inning one for 3 overall and says a lot for how good this team is that is Blake Stein now warming up in the Rose but it's been up for a few minutes he should be ready if needed but now that he's an afterthought he's talking about Jermaine Dietl as a really good player talks about die and talked about justice that much Terrence Long the big three molder Zito Hudson you hear about the heart of here a whole lot more here lately how about Darryl Mayo let's hear about him a little bit. Ten in a row sat down by the left hander one of the seven ESPN to Wednesday night baseball presented by Jiffy Lube now the rat was on early in this one the A's with six of the first as you can see they led eleven to nothing after three big inning for Kansas City in the fourth and then nothing but zero since from Tim Hudson and Darryl mates onto the seventh inning now in front of a crowd of better than fifty five thousand here in Oakland a six run lead for Tim Hudson and the A's a 19 game winning streak if they get no 20 that would put them one back up the Cubs of thirty five for the second longest streak in modern baseball history right hitter Chad Bradford now up in the Oakland Pan a very effective member of that A's bullpen this year Tucker doubled the left the last two times a medicines change in his approach on him a little bit further for outing now get him thinking about that ball inside fastballs off get away Sanjay right here in the first three pitches he's throwing a couple of couple splits he's getting mountain for the ball and two strikes to count on Tucker Beltran and then Sweeney coming up after him here in the seventh inning number six for Tim Hudson this copyrighted telecast just presented by authority of the commissioner of baseball I may not be reproduced or re transmitted in any form and the accounts and descriptions of this game may not be disseminated without express written consent to take part in a Major League Baseball history vote for your most memorable moment at every major league park or on MLB dot com you decide because after all these moments belong to you Carlos Beltran takes it high now they've chosen the top 30 memorable moments but if these A's go on and break the all time record and win twenty seven in a row can they sneak in number thirty one. I don't think so would be interesting to see what would happen. There's no right in portion of the ballot I think. I think the votes might be tabulated already. There you can see what they've accomplished already. Fifty five years ago the last time anybody won at least this many consecutive games and boil down to first bit of a tough hop the play is made by Mayberry to down this deal still a gig if they win tonight they're still six games away from tying the all time record and that's going through Minnesota and then getting back within the comp or within their division and playing plan teams and in your own division. So that's that's a lot to ask. I mean I don't think anybody can imagine when in 2010 and with Anaheim winning again. I mean Oakland got to win just to stay three and a half ahead and have not let up. They played great baseball two and eight games left between the Asian angels and if the A's are to keep moving on and break the all time win record and be pivotal twenty seventh game would be against the Anaheim Angels it's going to be so great. Baseball has a temper down history Seattle loss. They were beaten by Minnesota 3 to 2 Some of the Mariners lose a game to the angels here tonight. To be concerned in Seattle three and a half behind the angels for the wildcard lead Boston lost to New York. So the Red Sox lose another game in the wildcard race as well as six and a half back of the angels here in the Red Sox getting tougher and tougher to feel like you're going to have a chance at the wildcard and winning the division. If you're a fan of any of the teams in the American League West I mean they're going to bang his for the last three weeks of the season. The best team is going to win this some of them starting to stand here in Oakland better than fifty five thousand here the largest regular season crowded policy in history. The one two pitch to Sweeney and the ground ball up the middle into center field a base hit two for four. Mike Sweeney used tonight's to get more Brian told us earlier about Birdie Williams I think we might have a new batting leaders in the American League. That is correct. It is a great b by Sweeney. Looks like he might have hurt himself on that last week to ball out over the plate. You just hit it right back where it came from. That's a great a B for him and it just space. He's talking he's having a conversation with somebody in the Royals dugout maybe trying to swing too hard. But anyway he gets a second hit and it puts him in the lead. Radford continues to throw in the pen the batteries Ibanez 1 for three out of the outside corner over two on the crew down a lot the last little while here that's right at one hundred pitches he's not the biggest guy in the world he averages about seven innings per start seems like this whole rotation averages seven. If they're not finish in what they start this moment this past month litle form one hitters and these guys kept going complete games the crowd really you know this is their last home game too so of Minnesota tomorrow to begin a series on Friday night and you can see the A's and the twins Sunday night baseball here on ESPN 2 Barry Zito will be on the mound on Sunday night going for his 20th win of the season Eric Milton will be the starter for the Minnesota Twins I look at what the starting pitchers have done over the course of this streak great friendly competition between all the starting pitchers here at Oakland just like there was and has been for years and years in Atlanta the Minnesota Twins came in here and that's where they would like nothing more than an opportunity here in this it's called foul. The other pitching matchups in that series Friday Night Lytle. The American League Pitcher of the month for August against Brad Radtke and then on Saturday Mark Mulder against Kyle Loesch let's get the impression for that series the matchups are like already set as a playoff preview for two teams you just just played one of the first two down eleven to five. The Ainsley the royals here at the top of the seven try to finish off what could be his last inning of work. Line drive left field justice around a third comes Sweeney and it first is Ibanez it's been scored a base hit for Ibanez and the Royals not done this hitting yet another good a v right here he Bosnia's a split down goes down and gets it goes right with it justice it looks like he has his ball right in his glove and he does in there there falls down so we've seen the error by to harder the drop ball thereby justice the fly ball that fell in between justice and long earlier in the night it has been a bit of a sloppy defensive effort by the A's here and the royals still in business here in the seventh inning Joe Randle is going to be the batter Hudson is going to stay or maybe not. Here comes art how. He wants you know what that means the side Irving riot. Enter Chad Bradford to face Randolph Watson has still done enough to win if the bullpen can bring it home six and two thirds here tonight 11 to 5. The A's lead Well Tony 10 Hudson battled and I didn't have the best defense behind it but more often than not pitched out of trouble doesn't get a chance to finish the seventh inning. But what a hand for him from the fans and teammates alike as he makes his way into the dugout. Fans let him know that he appreciate his effort. And like you said they made a couple of errors behind their are made an error behind him and made him get some little bit of extra work but he battled the game mauling in a play here in a play there he'd still be in it. So Chad Bradford comes on face Joe Randle with runners at first and third two down in the seventh inning. Bradford's had a good year for Oakland tough on righties 230 VRA on the season walks. Yeah I was going to say if you're art how you look at those numbers 54 punch outs ten watch you get a feel pretty good about that. Radford leads American League relievers in fewest walks per nine innings on the appeal. He didn't go a ball on a strike. The lefty on deck Bradford's probably in there just for this one right handed bat and after seeing Tim Hudson on Mike see a guy come from down under did throw a change up from the often tough Joe Random to hang in there and get a good pitch to hit ground ball right out to hard to shovel it on the well is to end the seventh inning stretch here at Network Associates Coliseum the games still have a six run lead still eleven five open going to the bottom of the seventh inning and a packed house here in Oakland is going to be a packed house you know it in the Meadowlands tomorrow night the 2002 NFL season kicks off tomorrow on ESPN coverage begins at six thirty Eastern Time has Coors Light presents a special edition of NFL Countdown then at eight thirty p.m. Jeff D'Arcy of the 49ers taking on the New York Giants ESPN and ABC. Your exclusive home for prime time football. New pitcher for the Royals 6 foot 7 inch 240 pound Blake style so on to face David Justice here at the bottom of the seventh inning Stein some years ago was a member of the A's over the mark of Wired deal from St. Luis to Oakland and then traded from Oakland Kansas City a couple of years back rips it on a bounce to first. But what a nice looking play by Sweeney. He made that for me definitely look easy and justice hit that ball extremely hard. Nobody really gave me a position. La Bamba stays with it realizes that staying at a late breaking makes the play as a catcher. Coming up tutored and become a first baseman really till he was breaking into the big leagues really didn't become an all star until he moved to first base and really come into his own. Mark Ellis Ellis says Kansas City roots as well remember that three way trade between Oakland Kansas City and Tampa Bay. That's the the Johnny Damon Ben Greve Roberto Hernandez deal Ellis a throw it in that trade and wound up in Oakland the other throw in and not to demean but at the time those were the three big names. The other guy who's a part of that deal was Corey so the A's you know picking up the piece here picking up a piece there and turning them into valuable parts of their team. Kind of crazy like we're throwing. He could become regular players in your lineup. Swing and a miss. And that is all for Ellis to down. Back to Brian. Hey dan here's what we call the 0 1 TV thing Swatch. Rep. Tom Cole here just as they blast off on the screen has never had a complete game shut out. There it goes. Jeff Bagwell buries it. No shut out but Tom Cole did finish up get the 5 1 win on the body. Good news for the Padres. Twenty one of the thirty six pitchers this year. Thirty six a major league record. Terrence long as the batter and he takes it low ball one you live there obviously you still close to the organization I mean have they have they found enough good ones to go forward and get us great Nathan they have plenty is just the injuries they had lots of bring up these young guys but I think in the long run they're going to be funny. They get plenty of arms and long checking them out but he'll stop at second base going would really help this Oakland a lineup it's just ball right down the first base line. Sweeney's playing off the bag can't get there got own second double overnight first base runner for the A's since back in the third inning had got 13 hits on the night Tony and eight of them are for extra bases including a couple of doubles by this guy Ramone Hernandez doubled in a run in the first doubled in a run in the third grounded out in the fifth wrecking ball for a strike from stein stein has been able to get that slider over really throw it anytime he wants to win both of these teams with an off day yesterday. Weird series played Monday played Wednesday had Tuesday off and they're both off tomorrow as they head to their next series kind of nice for open a game this this crowd a chance to kind of develop you at the off. There indication of more attention for this team. They usually are. How might have five or six members of the media down there say go back a few months. I mean he was surrounded by about 25 writers and reporters before the game today. The job was one of those just got a hanging around the fans. I didn't want to seven complete an Oakland A's two innings away from a 20th consecutive win. ESPN teams Wednesday night baseball presented by Jiffy Lube TV though the well oiled machine and in part by Bud Light the great taste that won't fill you up and never let you down making a Bud Light top of the eighth inning royals down six with six outs left to go. That's all that stands between the Oakland A's and a new American League record 20 game winning streak are now going for defense. Now Eric Burns has replaced David Justice out in left field Redmayne leech off the eighth against Chad Bradford 9 1 4 3 bounced into a double play as last time a again. Other teams in the American League West were following the Anaheim Angels one earlier today be Tampa Bay four to two the Seattle Mariners lost 3 to 2 to the twins so at the moment the angels are just three back of the A's even though he hasn't won 19 in a row. It is so amazing baseball this year. The Mariners of the team really falling at a touch at the beginning of the 19 game winning streak. Seattle was in first and the A's were three and a half back. So Oakland's picked up 10 games on Seattle during these 19 games. They're getting but expected Seattle to come out with 162 games. They've played pretty good baseball too and they've had some can't take anything away from disease easy just played outstanding main draws the walk. That's why as nice as the streak is the A's specifically David Justice No. There are bigger things still at hand. The way we feel right now because there's a bigger picture here and we're not that far ahead in our division. So with the streak is a part of it. But the fact is we still gotta continue to play good baseball because the angels are right there. Seattle is not going anywhere. So that's the bigger picture that that's more important the streak. I think we all feel it has to end one day. And I think we approach you that way. I don't think we put any extra pressure on ourselves to continue to win for the streak. I think it's more or less where we're just understanding that we got a good team to play good baseball because we don't have the same one year and they do have the smallest lead of any division winner in baseball. But even if the Angels catch them somebody else would have to catch them to knock them out of the playoffs. So there they are in pretty good shape. If they win tonight there'll be seven up on Seattle. That's a lot of ground to make up. Although the Mariners and A's do have six games left against one another that's the saving grace really for a lot of these four angels in Seattle. They want to catch him. They got to knock em off and we get a chance to knock him off. He had to hit as easy as it is to see a team getting on a winning streak. Not this long but a winning streak with his pitching staff. That's as hard as it is to imagine the A's having a long losing streak because somebody Mulder Zito Hudson lost somebody is gone for good. Yeah and it's like the Oakland A's staff is a bunch of guys that has as a manager you want to go to war after a loss. You know it's like Pedro it's like Schilling and Johnson these three guys are like that guy. And when you put the ball in their hand they're they're really competitive and they want to win and they've said already they don't want to be the guy who gives up whatever number of runs or whatever it takes for them to get beat. They don't want to be that guy. So ball and two strikes on D Brown one for three tonight a two run single back in the fourth inning main at first. Nobody out well let's go back to the day the streak began August the 12th Seattle in first place and the athletics actually four and a half back. So they've picked up 11 games 11 Seattle over the last three weeks. Wow. And the angels right there they're 14 and six in their last 20 games. Oakland could be 20 at 0. So even at 14 and 6 the angels would have lost six games which you can't ask for much better than he's a big reason why Chavez Justice hot neighboring job may die long tonight. Hernandez seems like everybody is getting a big hit the teams they've beaten during the winning streak and as you can see it's not exactly the and the schedule is going to get tougher as they go back within their own division to play the Angels and Mariners a whole bunch the rest of the way. But you know what. Every team once or twice a season has a stretch like this. Nobody else is 1 0. That's exactly right. You know I mean you try to I guess the best way to describe try to bring down the fact that you know Oakland's won 19 in a row because the teams that they played or are under 500 everybody everybody's playing the same team the American League and at some point or another in the course of the season you're going to have your chance too. These are the only guys who have been able to put it together inside 20 wins is 19 wins is amazing. I mean you get to 20 20 wins in the world has 20 times going out there and playing the game and ending up with the W at the end. That is this hard to Bradford ready some activity now in the open pan which misses inside and maybe a little more good news and more depth coming to the A's. Ted Lilly remember him as recovering Cohen starts throwing down in the pen really picked up in that three way deal between the A's and Yankees and Tigers Lilly through a simulated game today. And if everything goes okay if he feels good the next couple of days he could be back in about a week. Three into you get into playoff baseball some three or four and five starters become really important because now you can use a possible guy like Corey Lino coming in to get some randoms and a guy like little league coming in to get some left handers out will splash become huge for the postseason too far. But you know they've got as good a chance as anybody of getting to the postseason the most likely scenario. That's if they hold on to win the West would be then facing the Minnesota Twins in the first round. A team they just swept last week and a team they're going to play again this weekend. If the playoffs were to start today it would be the Yankees against the Angels and the A's against the Twins. The playoff is the playoffs this year are gonna be interesting no matter how it ends up. Minnesota's been really good all year long and they're just getting their starting pitching so you can't count them out even back to back walks. Given up here to begin the eighth inning more baseball coming your way Friday over on ESPN National League style is Barry Bonds and the Giants try to make up some ground on the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks they'll take on Arizona ten thirty Eastern Time at Pac Bell Park just across the bay on ESPN some markets will see the Houston Astros against the Los Angeles Dodgers. RICK PETERSON the pitching coach coming to the mound to try and sort out Bradford as Rincon looks on ready if needed from the pen. No we said revenue came in and we shouldn't have said it. He's got the fewest walks per nine innings of any relief for any American League launch the first to get jinxed him. Three out of 10 lots s pretty impressive in the last one he was a hero to deep around battled him and got to walk out of it. When you get the eight nine hitters coming up so these next two hitters become huge here for Oakland because you don't want to turn the lineup around with some ducks on a par with guys you know. Tucker's got two heads to release tonight. Sweeney's got a couple of hits. He body has got a couple of hits you don't want to get in the middle of the royals lineup up there. Nafi Perez won for three in RBI single in the fourth inning first and second nobody out Chavez in on the grass at third in the pitch just a little bit low. From Bradford the crowd getting restless. They've come to expect everything is going to go their way here. They're spoiled rotten. That is what it is with Bradford in this delivery. It's not that he's over power and he's he's really in the mid 80s speed wise but being able to pick up the ball and take a good swing and as a whole another issue was a strike over the off day yesterday and another off day tomorrow. Everybody's available down there in the bullpen should this game get any closer. Should Art Howe need somebody else he's got a green cone up and ready if needed and you know if he needs him he'll go to catch even though Billy conch appeared in four consecutive games ending on Monday did have the off day yesterday two and one it missed up in you don't see many guys with this kind of delivery where he's a submarine or but it's not really that good not overpowering his 82 83 84 miles an hour so speed wise you know not going to be intimidating just picking up the ball build out there to ensure it might be one of the areas where they're a little bit unsettled right had it setup guy. You said Messier is a TAM is at Bradford who's going to be from Down Under it's this especially after facing Hudson all night long is going to be a little difficult it's going to be tough but to answer your question that's why when you get to postseason you know having a guy like Corey light a guy like Lilly those guys four and five guys become important because now that gives you an actual weapon to try to get guys out to get him in maybe an out that gets you out of a jam an inning so you can go to your closer and go to your setup guy. I'll tell you what hit my guy like relied on to go into the set up well that's a that's a nice thing to have a nice piece of the 2 and to the count on Perry's pitch swung on bounds for the right side back headed by maybe the race is on and he's not going to as the royals have now loaded him up with nobody yet Radford got a late break he thought maybe he was going to take that himself nephew Paris takes really a bad a and turns it into a base it just rolls over the top of it and Bradford starts and then stops and by then it's too late for has got a whiff of a base hit and watch and turn it off when he sees nobody's in the royals who got all of their runs tonight back in the fourth inning try to put together another beginning here in the eighth to make arthouse sweat a little bit more Lord Howe thought early on. Okay I'm going to be able to breathe relax kind of take it easy mothers typically game whether they're down or they're up they're never dull they always get interesting at the end. Saw Das as the batter it was eleven to nothing Oakland after three and it's been eleven to five ever since the fourth he has had opportunities to peck away at that eleven five deficit and they just haven't been able to get a big hit. Meaning ending double play in the fifth left a couple of men on in the seventh rung on bounce backhand by to women say that the play when he had his shirt out at third base he went for a much tougher play and it cost this one. I cannot explain to how it goes a long way in the hole. I mean really Chavez goes right to the bank. Really the play is to go to third and instead he goes home. HERNANDEZ I know wasn't expecting that a mental mistake by Miguel to heart. It's eleven to 6:00 and the A's are going to the Penn lead now down to five just a brain cramp there by McGill to harden going through the tough play at home instead of the easier play at third didn't get it out a run scored it's 11 to six bases loaded nobody out and Ricardo Rincon comes on to face Michael Tucker Chuck Meriweather didn't give it to him and the umpire's decision whether he gives it to you or not he didn't go down in the camerawork Tucker 0 4 for a lifetime against rim cone picked up over a deal with Cleveland earlier this season but he's going to righty and a lefty throwing in the bullpen just in case backstage to really almost critical they need to get some Matt they going to get the night off tonight bases loaded nobody out for the royals here in the eighth inning a lot of arm action this throws a fastball both laser both out to the plate it slow breaking hit and Bradford slow getting over to first and then or does credited with the field of choice in an RBI went to hot goes home instead of the third I mean the wolves are hitting the ball hard no they're not not even close. The A's are begging them to get back into this game. Three and 2 the count on Tucker now Carlos Beltran turns around about a right handed against Ricardo Rincon when they get into the heart of the order now by the way just one more note on the Oakland bullpen. Jim Messier who could be up more in at this point of the game. He is serving a suspension right now the second of a three game suspension. From an incident with a Chicago White Sox winning hit Roy's plate so the A's remain short in the bullpen. They'll try it already with two grand slams on the season but he's open for a pretty good bet that this is going to anybody who's behind him saw him and have to go through a number of relievers. Rick really wanted this pitch when he was up and just off third Des Brown at second Effie Perez at first Louis saw dies just one out catch tagging and coming home is brown he'll beat the throw at the plate it's eleven to seven and Perez comes down to third hustle thereby mean Dion made a nice play on this perfect little hop throw just deep brown speed beat the play and that's going to be all for Renko. Looks like the right hander Tam is going to come in the lead is down to 4 Well a few minutes ago it was ólafur and the A's were unquestionably on their way to an American League record 20th consecutive win it was eleven nothing Oakland after three Kansas City with four in the fifth but then things gonna settle down until this inning. The Royals have added two runs they've got runners at first and third to Danny's right hander Jeff Tam comes into the game to face the man who right now is the leading hitter in the American League and Mike Sweeney Sweeney two for four tonight two for a lifetime against Tam so when he's done it the old fashioned way went over to and he's got two straight hits. Been an art house shook up the roster sent down three called up three made a trade was with the A's last couple of years called back up in July Tam has gone eighty four innings seventy nine appearances since giving up a home run got played right now he's nineteen on the season fast while he tried to sneak back on the inside the outside part of the plate comeback win here tonight to end the streak with the royals something to talk about on the way home and what has otherwise been a long tough season just not getting enough movement or at the end starts it off the plate and tries to run it back on the outside corner this could be his only batter if he loses him only by he has some good hacks left right adding near and Sweeney took the good hat Oakland A's bullpen trying to get time on the ball and Phil Liggett Sweeney he's right on that that's a pitch he wished he could have back time called again from Kansas City's Doug our bullpen again Louis for the A's Paul Byrd lasted just one inning in this game gave up six runs make an emerging ten this throws some quality pitches here just missed the outside corner twice a little sinker down and in you'll get a bonus of 10 can't get Sweeney getting a little nervous 11 nothing to eleven the seven are you one of those who feels that every pitch a good hitter sees gives him more and more of an advantage. I am I really believe that the more pitches you see the better hitter you should be in Tampa alone and just about everything in his arsenal here and he's fouled the last couple of them off so it really just boils down to can Tam make a pitch here with two strikes allow or dash the runner at first to be off with the pitch. So he's worked at the three to now with the runner go and if he can get a base hit here put it two to a three run trying to get it out the easy way but our dash wasn't fooled. I'm sure the first base coach said Look we gotta let Sweeney swing the bat make sure he goes to the plate as at first Perez down the line at third two runs in this ball pull down the left field line toward the corner at the wall it is gone Mike Sweeney hits a home run a three run shot and it's a one run game as Jeff Tam gives up his first home run in his last eighty four innings I don't think Sweeney was sure when he hit that ball he hit it pretty good with a pitch up and Sweeney hits this ball and he's looking he doesn't know if he's got enough on that I wasn't sure he got enough and I was pretty sure he hit it foul but I thought I thought that it was going foul and soon as it gets out of the park Sweeney half past shifted into high gear because he was standing at the Senate in the play area watch so the Royals have scored five runs here in the eighth inning to make it a one run game and that's going to be all for 10 left hander Mike boogie is going to come into the game and the tying run is going to come to the play when we come back to Oakland what a game Mike Sweeney is 20th home run of the season a three run shot off Jeff Tam makes it a one run game remember the A's led eleven to nothing after three innings and Mike Sweeney saying what you and I said you know it started foul and it just came back on the screen now out the left hand look at the right field flags and they're blown out all right so what he's saying is making sense when he hit it. He thought it was going to hurt. Found in state street so art how after Tim Hudson has had to go through Chad Bradford to Ricardo ringtone Jeff Tam. Now Mike Gooey a left hander called up at the end of July and he's already got his close your Billy catch up here in the eighth inning. Remember on Monday the A's trailed five to nothing came back to win 76. Now they were up eleven and out Tony paying his crew a lot of credit they didn't win they kept battling and now they find themselves down a run after being down eleven it's enough to hot air in the fourth inning led to three unearned runs into hot to not charged with an error this inning but just made the wrong play made a throw for home instead of an easy play at third so they didn't get it out and that could have changed the fights it off down the left field to console Jeff Tam right now after facing just one batter two and two the count on Ibanez Kenny here in the studio pretty good finish to the Rockies and giants to one ball game two on two out in the ninth. Bill Miller a long shot but Lowry Walker is there so the Rockies take it San Francisco stands two and a half behind the Dodgers and the wildcard D'Antoni right. Thanks very much. A wild one here tonight with the royals back within a run as the A's try to extend his winning streak to 20. It was easy at least it looked easy in the first three innings anything but since as the A's have already gone through five pitchers friends and alliance the last time a home team blew a lead this big. Twenty six years ago Mike Schmidt hit three home runs in that game against the Cubs Phillies rally to win 18 to 16 for home runs. I beg your pardon Jeremy AFL due to the recent things that's happened here look at the FLDS numbers the fault is a kind of gotten flat. Also with 11 runs on the board in the first three innings and Kansas City's bullpen you got to give them credit. They've done a nice job your got to feel a little bit for Tim Hudson who was betrayed by his defense he wasn't at his sharpest tonight but six times this year Hudson has left with a lead and the bullpen has led the lead slip away. And number seven could be here tonight. And again not to put it all on one guy but that's the guy. Tonight he has made one error which cost him three runs and just a bad decision which turned around and he got charged with an error it cost him a few more runs in the eighth inning. Now it's a nail biter so we will see Billy catch the top of the ninth inning. Okay let's take you back. In case you missed some of the earlier moments in this game Miguel Tejada first with the error in the fourth inning led to three unearned runs and then this one with a big lead instead of the easy out of third tough missed play at the plate. You could see the way Hernandez was standing at the plate. He wasn't even expecting a throw. Not. Not a chance. Was he making a throw. And if he had just gone to third let it get in and out save possibly a bigger any in scored a field of choice but it really was a bad decision. You'd have gone to third and gotten the out you tried to turn and maybe go to second to get it and he just getting it out in that way is a good Beltran runs out from under his cap to make the play one down. Well remember we saw them earlier thousands and thousands of people brought with them tonight Miggy for MVP little records little signs and we haven't seen quite as much of them over the past few innings. I mean one game should take away from what he's accomplished the entire season as well. No it's not because nobody feels worse about it than. Yeah he's over four or he's over three. He was hit by a pitch the first time. He's the only guy without a hit tonight made a couple of bad decisions this cost his team out of the 10 runs a good five or six are a direct result of decisions that he made could very easily come up here whenever I wasn't going to say you know and that's he's had that kind of year. And tonight he's really been uncharacteristically swinging early in the can and this is one of those games you hope you can get out of with a win for him individually you turn the page forget about the 11:00 10:00 Oakland bottom of the eighth inning a full count out of Mayberry ready in the pen perhaps for two hot ground ball to second gobbled up by as Mayberry gone to down here again is what Oakland is trying to accomplish here tonight so possession in the all time American League record the longest win streak they're looking for number 20. If they can hang on and win this game here tonight. Tony Payne has made the move. The right hander Jason Grimsley is coming in to face Miguel Tejada. When we come back to Oakland from ólafur to a nail biter for the A's here tonight at 11:00 nothing lead is almost gone. It's eleven ten but open maybe looking for the new insurance here in the bottom of the day. Jason Grimsley right here to believe it is on for the Royals good stuff but even his good stuff would not derail Miguel Tejada. Two days ago remember that game winning RBI single on Monday that ran the winning streak to 19. That was off Grimsley. So they meet again 48 hours later differences stunning. Adrenaline flowing freely tonight has been one of those nights for you need to have a good in bed. Still believe this is his 409 consecutive game that's the longest active streak in the majors. Three straight years wins. He doesn't get the call there and it's 2:00 a.m. plan to pull that outfielder to come in and have five guys in there like they did on Monday. They still can stop and there's the closer we're going to see the thing about the hotter you see and he's not a very big guy that he's get some kind of pop the other way. He's not just for him. We'll take that ball out over the plate and drive it in right center field too on the corner too and to the A's have had just one hit in the last four and two thirds. They erupted early and have been silent ever since I choppered down to third out of the bag and now to harden finding out that he had a chance at second of it. By the time he found the ball or hurt his coach he couldn't go to second it has been scored a base hit for 200 the hardest and what happened with the ball is a high sinker he rolls right over the top of a random nose he's got to hurry and the batter throws his retirement into the runner and realizing the catcher backing up the playing like good catches is supposed to do run right down that line to get the long way to go to to get to you don't want to risk anything with Eric Chavez coming up four with three RBI eyes tonight the conscious sure had a long time to get loose down there in the bullpen in preparation for the top of the night. Thirty seven saves on the season for clutch that's what I thought. GRIMSLEY went right adding. But don't give it to him again. When I was a Chavez right on this ball just was underneath and that's one of those pitches you love to have back. Way out in front of to to how to hit first two down laundry's done out the really trying to get the turbo seeker on the outside corner. Team Manning with a fastball in the middle of the plate but it looks like Grimsley fall for Chavez. We'll walk away from so if he throws his ball in and he got him to end the inning. So we are headed to the ninth Billy Cox of the age three outs away from their 20th straight win well at eleven nothing I think everybody in the ball park chalked up win number 20 and said Who's next. But the royals weren't quite ready to go quietly five in the fourth five and the eighth to make it a one run game. And when the A's lead after eights which they often do at least this season they have won every single time. Now there have been some blown saves Billy conch has grown five saves this year but I guess we did lead a charmed life. It seems every time coach has some trouble the A's come back in the bottom of the ninth and win the game. Still like this weekend. Yeah. Give him a homerun and just really worked himself into some trouble by working Morgan behind in a camp like this. He needs to get ahead. He got a river he's worked a couple of games two games here in the world on the off day yesterday but worked four consecutive days before that when he struggles. This is how it starts. Notches thirty seven saves in forty two opportunities this season second in the league and saves one ahead of him. Art Howe believes. And Billy Cox has tried to make him believe that the more coach pitches the better he is. And this is already the 70 first appearance for coach he has already pitched seventy nine innings twice this year. He has gone to three innings we're closer. He's a worker. He didn't like that last call. I never like him look gas. I thought he wanted a random swung on and filed a back full count. It's never dull and tonight it hasn't been easy at least lately for the yays history. Here is what the A's are trying to set tonight an American League record 20th consecutive win three outs away line drives center field base hit Don't go away I said bet by Randy he just stood in there and took the heater fought it off in the center of your base it have a pinch hitter coming on for the Royals now can't all the round for Joe Randy Capello comes on as a pinch runner he's the tying run nobody out of the ninth inning and Brent Maine is the batter Chavez the third baseman on the grass Mayberry holds on Heller with first third the first to see if main is giving anything away whether or not he's funding the rule of thumb generally Tony is on the road you play for the lead play for the win not for the tie. So does that mean he will not be funny that I you know I think they've they battled so hard tonight to get with it and I think they done square and it gets it down Mayberry on the well is sacrifice for me now wait a second ninety six ninety seven mile per hour heater getting it down the jump in his own didn't it enough so that you wonder if a second hitter so now you get deep round and left for us to try to get a base hit here to tie his ballgame low the run of its second one out round his first action with a big club this season plays a pretty good pitches down in the zone Chuck Berry Rogers in and given it to the Browns going to have a hard time turning up on this heat we told you it was twenty six years ago the last time our home team blew and eleven or only the last time the athletics blew an eleven run lead they were in Philadelphia sixty six years ago Jack Meriweather punched him out at the plate. Brown is gone two down and this is what I'm talking about and you go from a dead stop once you start your momentum is hard to stop check me Meriweather calls him man from and he did die due to the royals who doubted their fight aloud. That means the A's are one out away from a 20 game winning streak. Louis and a failure of team action and one Vikings coming up next year on ESPN 2. We have a pinch hitter now for Kansas City. Lewis say comes up for an Effie Perez base it could tie it catch trying to end it and send this place in the absolute delirium the largest regular season CROWD IN THE HISTORY OF THE COLISEUM fifty five thousand five hundred twenty eight. Hoping to see a little bit of history tonight. They didn't expect quite as much of a roller coaster ride seeing all but one run from an 11 to nothing lead disappear. Just come in and throw nothing but strikes really good power fastball Alice say. The tying run at second base only reliever in history with 30 or more saves in each of his four first four seasons is a big lever. He was a closer about two weeks after he got remember there's more than just a streak at stake here the Angels won again. So Oakland needs to win to stay three and a half ahead of Anaheim sliced into left field. It's dropping the base had the Royals have tied it here in the ninth inning. They have come all the way back from an 11 to nothing deficit to tie it in the nine great a by Osage state up there fought off a fastball out of left field and outfielders outfielders are playing deep fastball. This kind of gets jammed the price off the left good base running by Palo comes around. Vern tries to make the throw to Lake loan save number six for Billy catch the optimists among the stands would say that's just going to make the win that much more dramatic. Whenever and however they figure out how to win it tonight because they've been figuring out how to win games in wild ways in this streak. But this one's definitely the wildest it was eleven nothing after three and the Royals had tied it up hero of the last two games just hit the bottom of the eighth inning. So he is not scheduled to come up in the bottom of the ninth. So if he's going to be the hero again that means this game's going extra innings. You get that base. It took a whole lot of electricity out of this Baltimore customers say it sucked the air right out of the defense. Shippers absolutely get riot gear and the guy you feel forced him. But now he gets the no decision seventh time this year the bullpen has blown a lead for Tim Hudson no balls two strikes to count on our and sang this all night team can't you have to give credit to the Kansas City Royals they could have folded their tent a long time ago and they didn't they kept on battling till nobody is happened and Tony threatened getting these guys this isn't a game like this whether they win or lose does a lot for their show people because there's no quit. We're going to battle Joseph out now. He had a premonition he talked extensively before the game about the pride the royals had and now they're just not going to roll over for the sake of history. Look at sales to the backstop and then bothered by Hernandez. So with the second base of the wild pitch goes Alysia now bloop here there could give the royals the lead bounces back to Hernandez and he would have had a shot at Aloisi just lost his grip on you see a little bit of everything in this game from cutting into the crowd look like one strike away from setting the record no blank base hit Tie ball game. Now you're one pitch away from being down to two toward guys outside full count who's this guy. The number nine hitter a right handed batter and bring up a more dangerous hitter in Michael Tucker who's on deck. But your score sheet with mine has taken a beating in the last game I did as the night. All right. On Monday this is a piece of cake compared to that tied at 11:00 of the 9 3 2 pitch swung on and fouled back but one does get a pitch out over the plate in a situation like this you just want to try to put your bet on the ball and try to try to go up there and muscle up on the guys 1 96 97. I would say maybe there's an nice maybe and then he just put the bat on the ball and Kelly runner goes and they got him picked up said in the base hit and then denies them a chance to take the lead unbelievable game especially with what's at stake. A 20 game winning streak is engaged below an eleven to nothing lead. Kansas City ties it to the ninth Louis shall I say a pinch hit bloop single to tie it. He gets second three. What's he doing go into third with two outs. I don't know. He's already in scoring position. And I guess after a couple of people he thought he had catch my drift lulled to sleep. You get the big catches not having your back. Well there you go. Here's a tie to game and really no if they have a winner. So now let's say a state game at segregation was over the over the short yellow goes to third. And Jermaine Dye leech off the bottom of the ninth against Jason Grimsley. The number five hitter Eric Burns on deck. Remember he came on defensively to David Justice. But now Scott Hatteberg is out on the on deck circle in Burns's spot. 1 and 0 the count on die tonight at 11:00 here in the bottom of the ninth inning in front of a stunned crowd in Oakland stunned is a good word I think some people are standing. Some people have seen this action on a school night swing of the bat. The A's had a history with their 20th consecutive win something no American League team has ever done. Boy to blow an eleven run lead something the A's have done here tonight. Only the giants of 1916 and they had a tie. And the Cubs have thirty five. They've had longer winning streaks in the modern era since nineteen hundred than the A's of 2002. So we're going to fall back to and to one way or the other. This game is going to have an effect on this opening team. They're able to come back and win this game. Yeah they're gonna feel good about getting the 20. We had an 11 nothing lead against a team that's in last place and they came back in Titus. Because the mistakes that we made a bigger type of team that wants to get to the postseason. We had to play better. They didn't want him to play. They handed a run after run to the royals fouled off by die. If it goes to the 10th we will assume that Billy conscious coming back out nobody up in the pen catch the twenty two pitches in that top of the ninth inning. Tough to fault him for the blue hit by Alice say I guess if you're going to hang something on Hodge it's falling behind Aranda to it Oh the first two to replace it eventually giving up the base hit say a tiny bit of flair to left field checks swing and a full count on die and that's gonna happen in four closes well sometimes you bring him in and he's one run games. Well sometimes you're going to make the mistakes that you're going to make a bad get sometimes you're gonna make a great pitch and a hitter is gonna do a great job of hitting. You can't expect him to go out there every time and not give up anything. You know the story of this game's the Oakland defense really. Absolutely without question tonight the defense and the decision making on the defensive side too because the biggest play of the night now has turned out to be the hardest decision to come to the plate instead of going to third. And that decision has cost him at least two rounds possibly for probably three full count pitch again to Jermaine DEI you can just sense being here in the park that everybody here in the stands feels it's going to win here in the bottom of the night. They're just wondering how the A's are going to pull it out. They've come to expect to win every night presuming that everything here is going to be a guy coming off the bench Scott Hatteberg pops out again as a pinch hitter for Eric Burns that the police are walking in the A's Doug Anthony leaves feel like something's going to happen is in advert plays generally the first baseman for the A's with John Maybury getting the start tonight so whoever comes off the bench against Grimsley a 19 game winning streak on the line here for the A's the front runners in the American League West right now three up on the angels. Swung on Scott Hatteberg comes up and hits a bomb the right field for the game winning home run the Oakland A's have set a new American League record 28 consecutive win and this is a game nobody here will ever forget. Hanging out in the middle of flaky it at a ballpark in Oakland A's like they've done so many times during this streak have found a way to win it. They have done this so many times under so many different sets of circumstances of the last three weeks. But this was without question the wildest win of all 20. They are not from this planet. They begged the Kansas City Royals to win this game. The Royals came back from eleven down to tie and Scott Hatteberg the pinch hit home run to win it in the bottom of the night. Twelve eleven O'Quinn Scott Hatteberg joins us from field level. Congratulations Scott. I don't know if you can hear us down there are you guys ever going to lose a game. She's I sure hope not. I have gray hair. If we keep it up like this so tough it is a good win for you guys. But 11 nothing leaders are going to stick with you a little bit. Yeah I mean we we jumped out early and I think maybe let off a little bit I didn't play real good baseball. Most middle innings and they came back and they came in they came back and made it a game and you hopefully can learn from it. Just keep the pressure on but some kind of magic right now. Scott you're making. You guys are all turning out. How do an old man. Day by day but look around you here. This at least 40 thousand still here from the fifty five thousand who were here before. There's a love affair going on in this town right. Absolutely absolutely. It's so exciting to see. I mean this is the fun time here to play. You know we're playing well haven't come out supporters it's just nothing better. Talk about. I mean now tomorrow or the next day you start thinking about 20 1. I mean it is setting the record is winning twenty seven in a row important are you just thinking about the angels behind you. Well you know I think we're overshadowed and how good they're playing right now. You know we're playing so good yet they're just ready to kick. We just can't pull away from them. So they're playing great baseball and we know that they're right down the horizon. We're going to beat them so well you know we've got to we got to keep this snowball rolling. Last question. Where does this rank among the big moments in your major league career. This got me right at the top. Congratulations. Thanks for the time. Hey thanks My pleasure Scott. Hattiesburg comes off the bench and smacks a game winning home run. They are simply amazing. Twenty consecutive wins for the Oakland A's who led eleven in nothing saw the royals come all the way back to tie it up only to see Oakland win it in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the ninth no doubt or to deep right field on new hero every night for the incomparable Oakland A's who had won 20 consecutive games the longest winning streak in the history of the American League they are off to Minneapolis to take on the twins on Friday night if they can beat the twins Friday night they'll match the Cubs for the second longest winning streak ever. The cubs in nineteen were in twenty one in a row the all time record is twenty six the A's are at twenty right now the final Oakland twelve on Kansas City eleven off thriller here at Network Associates Coliseum tonight NFL yearbook is coming up next. This has been a presentation of ESPN the worldwide leader in sports. Log on to ESPN. Don.

Channel: Oakland Athletics

Views: 12,676

Rating: 4.9310346 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: xN0HKV5WpbM

Length: 184min 40sec (11080 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 26 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/sypher1504]

Anyone know where to find the radio call of this game? I’d love to hear Bill King call it, and I’d be willing to try to sync up the audio/video. Thanks for posting this!

[u/JakeFromSkateFarm]

I still got teary-eyed just seeing this game's appearance in Moneyball last week. <3

[u/LiverpoolLOLs]

This makes me feel ridiculously nostalgic

[u/redditnathaniel]

God damn videogame A's with the dingers

[u/Purple_Herman]

Wow this Mike T. kid is legit