It had to be a real gutpunch to the Oakland dugout when Huston Street blew a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the ninth. Battling against one of the best pitchers in baseball, Roy Halladay, the A's had scratched out three runs, enough to put debuting starter Shane Komine in a position to win his first big league game but Kiko Calero made it a one-run game in the eighth and then Street blew up, giving up three runs on four hits in a ninth inning that seemed to make a loss inevitable. But Mark Ellis singled off of B.J. Ryan and, with two out, Mark Kotsay fouled off seven pitches before working a walk setting the stage for Milton Bradley. Bradley took a 2-1 pitch from Ryan deep to dead-center and Oakland walked off with a 6-5 win and their slim, half-game advantage in the West.
- Speaking of bleak dugout situations, the scene in the eighth inning at the Metrodome must have been like something out of The Grapes of Wrath. Down 3-0 and facing a sweep at the hands of the seemingly unbeatable Tigers; with their ace Johan Santana long gone to the showers after a poor five and a third innings pitched; held to one hit by the opposing ace Jeremy Bonderman through seven innings; the deck was stacked against the Twins keeping their sizzling string going. But Carlos Guillen and Chris Shelton made eighth inning errors, Michael Cuddyer tripled in two runs and a last-ditch Tiger rally failed allowing the Twins to escape with a 6-4 win that kept them a game and a half behind the Yankees in the Wild Card race.
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