The Oakland Athletics suffered a heartbreaker of a loss on Saturday afternoon as the Toronto Blue Jays finally picked up a win in the third game of the two teams' four-game series. After 11 innings, the Blue Jays wound up with the 3-1 win after a slew of unlucky breaks late in the game.
Oakland starter A.J. Griffin had to leave the game in the second inning with tightness in his shoulder. The Oakland bullpen did a masterful job in relief, including Jordan Norberto, who pitched 3.2 perfect innings.
Derek Norris put the A's on the board with a two-out RBI double in the second inning and the A's pitchers held things right there until the ninth inning, when David Cooper hit a solo home run to tie things up at 1-1. In the bottom of the 10th, it appeared as though the A's were destined to pick up their 14th walk-off win of the year, as the bases were loaded for Josh Reddick. Unfortunately, Reddick was called out on strikes to end the inning.
In the top of the 11th, the Blue Jays broke through in the most frustrating way possible. With runners on first and second and one out, Jeff Mathis struck out swinging as the runners took off. Oakland catcher George Kottaras threw to third base and had Edwin Encarnacion dead to rights, but third baseman Brandon Inge whiffed on the catch, allowing Encarnacion to score the go-ahead run. The next batter, Moises Sierra, then hit a two-out double off the left-field wall for the insurance run.
For more on the Oakland Athletics, join the discussion over at Athletics Nation. For updates and perspective on the Toronto Blue Jays, head on over to Bluebird Banter. You can also check out everything we have to offer at Baseball Nation.
