Mercy Rule?

The Angels were handed their worst loss in franchise history as the Athletics scored 21 runs and held LA to only 3. This game was historic for more than just the outrageous score as it included the first time EVER in baseball history that a player played at the catching position, pitched, and hit a home run all in one game. It also represented the second time this season that the Angels had to rely on Francisco Arcia to pitch.

Only One Game

There was only a single game in the West on Thursday and this was it. It really shined a spotlight on the Athletics as they continue their march towards a playoff berth. They’re now looking at a magic number of 4 to clinch a spot but they’re still hoping to win the division or take the top wildcard spot.

As it stands, the win moved them closer to both as Houston was idle and the Yankees lost to Boston. They’re now sitting 1 1/2 games behind New York and 3 1/2 behind Houston with less than 2 weeks to go.

The game was clearly dominated by the Oakland offense but as an interesting bit of trivia, after Matt Shoemaker left with 2 outs in the 3rd, Jim Johnson came in and gave up 6 unearned runs. Yup, of the 21 runs, 7 were the result of a fielding miscue which is pretty unlike the Angels as they have the 6th fewest errors in the majors and Andrelton Simmons has only 10 errors all season.

There’s no real pitching award today except I suppose I could give it to Arcia for his 2 innings of work but other than that interesting situation and a couple of decent outings from relievers, this really wasn’t a pitcher’s game.

As for batting, 8 Oakland starters score 2 runs or more which is pretty incredible. As a team they picked up 22 hits, 4 doubles, and 3 home runs, batting 12 for 17 with runners in scoring position. But while Stephen Piscotty added to his home run totals on the year, I have to give my player of the day to shortstop Marcus Semien who went 3 for 5 with 5 RBIs. He was the only Athletic starter who did not score 2 runs or more but he did knock in the most runs.

Pitcher of the Day: Francisco Arcia, LAA – 1–4, HR, 2 INN, 3 ER
Player of the Day: Marcus Semien, OAK – 3–5, 1R, 5 RBI

Sports – West Coast Baseball – Mercy Rule?