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Scutaro roars again as A’s sweep the Twins
By Daniel Dullum October 6, 2006 |
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Following in the footsteps of Billy Martin, Bobby Richardson, Al Weis and Bucky Dent, add Oakland’s Marco Scutaro to the list of unlikely postseason heroes. Scutaro’s bases-loaded double in the seventh inning blew open game three of the American League Divisional Series with Minnesota, as Oakland thumped the Twins 8-3 Friday to complete a three-game sweep in the best-of-five series. The A’s now await the winner of the Detroit-New York series, which the Tigers lead 2-games-to-1. It was Oakland’s first postseason series win since 1990, and the victory snapped a nine-game playoff losing streak. Chavez called the moment, "unbelievable," saying, "It's been a while. We've had a lot of chances at it, and we've finally been able to do it." Scutaro doubled twice and tied an A’s postseason record with four RBIs in a five-game series. Milton Bradley and Eric Chavez homered for Oakland, as Dan Haren wiggled out of a couple of early jams to post his first playoff win. Huston Street pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the save. Torii Hunter and Justin Morneau homered for the Twins, but Minnesota failed to cash in a number of scoring chances. In the sixth inning, Hunter tried to score on Rondell White’s RBI single, but was thrown out at the plate by Bradley while trying to avoid catcher Jason Kendall’s tag. The Twins never got any closer than 4-2 and never led during any game in the series. Brad Radke, who started for Minnesota despite a cracked shoulder socket, allowed five hits and four runs in four innings and took the loss in what might be his last major league outing. Radke has hinted that he would retire at the end of season, but is holding off on making a final decision. "This isn't what we came here to do," Morneau said in the post game press conference. "It's tough. We didn't play the way we played all year. They outplayed us and that's why they're moving on. In a short series, you can't afford to miss those chances." A’s Playoff Notes: Oakland’s next game will either be at the Coliseum on Tuesday, or at Yankees Stadium, if New York wins the NY-Tigers series. If Detroit clinches the series on Saturday, then Detroit will then travel to Oakland, and Game 1 first pitch will be at 5PM PDT in Oakland. The ALCS series is a 2-3-2 format, and the home field advantage is in Games 1-2, 6-7. With Detroit, the A’s would have home field, but with NY, they would have home field advantage in this best of seven series. |
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