Monday, August 12, 2019

Storm gets A’s kicked


Storm took the field on a beautiful Sunday afternoon unaware of the absolute catastrophe that was about to befall them. Storm went into the game averaging fewer than 10 runs per game (a statistic aided by a number of forfeits, but still…) so what happened in the top of the 1st was A’stonishing.

The A’s brought only eight players to start the game, but those eight players were ready to hit. The A’s batted through their lineup two and a half times, scoring 16 runs and hitting two home runs plus a home run out. Storm’s defense wasn’t particularly bad. There were a couple of hard-hit balls that went off of gloves, but for the most part, the A’s hit A’stoundingly well. The 16 runs is more in an inning than Storm has given up total in 19 of their games (not including defaults).

It’s tough to be down that much BEFORE YOU EVEN BAT, but Storm took a positive attitude to the plate, and mounted a strong rebound. A single followed by a two-run homer and a ball that took a Joey bounce off the fence that allowed him to get an inside the park home run had Storm score three runs on three batters. Storm would add four more including another two-run blast to recover seven runs. If Storm could just close the floodgates they were still in the game.

Unfortunately, the floodgates would not close. A(‘s)mazingly, the A’s would bat though their lineup two and a half times again in the 2nd. Cam showed up late and stepped pretty much immediately to the plate to knock out a grand slam. The A’s added nine more to go up 25-7.

With the game apparently out of reach, the top of Storm’s order decided to play for themselves and not the team. Duran, Joey, and Craig hit back to back to back solo home runs (when you’re down by 18 you kind of need to cash in more than one run with each dinger!). Bob, to prove he was more of a team player, hit a double. He’d score on the next pitch that Lance hit out for a two-run shot.

Storm could not keep the A’s from scoring. In the 3rd they score 11 with lots of solid hitting and more home runs. It was really hard to keep track of what was happening by this point in the game. Everything was a blur as by the end of three innings all but the bottom two A’s batters had batted six times.

Storm sort of kept trying. Joey hit his third home run of the game in the 3rd. Bob, who apparently was no longer playing for the team, or just to prove he could, smacked a solo home run. After that not a lot happened. Four innings of baseball and Storm lost 39-17.

Fun facts:
Storm scored 17 runs. That would have been enough to win 19 of their games this year.
Storm gave up 39 runs. That’s not only the most runs they’ve given up this year (and likely ever, though the statisticians are still digging through the archives), that’s more than they’ve given up in their six best defensive games this year COMBINED.
Bob was a triple short of the cycle, but he never even got a chance to hit for it, because he only came up three times.
Joey hit three home runs (including an inside the park home run that bounced off a fence post away from the A’s defenders allowing him to easily trot around the bases). Of course, it’s kind of meaningless when your team get slaughtered.

Notable Boxscores:
The entire A’s roster. Seriously. They all hit well.

Joey – 3/3, 3HR 5RBI, 3 runs
Bob – 3/3, HR, 2B, 3 runs, RBI
Duran – 2/3, 2 HRs, 3 RBI, 3 runs
Lance – 2/3, HR, 3 RBI, 2 runs

HR's: Joey (3), Duran (2), Lance, Bob, Al, Craig
HR Out's: None

Boxscore

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Total
A’s
16
9
11
3
x
x
x
39
Storm
7
5
4
1
x
x
x
17

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