Witt began his dominance in the top of the first inning as Bob Zupcic popped up to second to start. John Valentin lined out to right but Mike Greenwell got a base hit to center. Andre Dawson whiffed to end the inning. Darwin trudged to the mound in the bottom of the first and Rickey Henderson hit a 300 foot out to right to start. Kevin Seitzer grounded out to first but Ruben Sierra effortlessly singled to right. Zupcic had to climb the wall in center to rob Troy Neel of a home run to end the inning.
Somehow Mo Vaughn walked to begin the top of the second inning but naturally Carlos Quintana banged into a double play. Scott Cooper watched strike three go by to end the inning. The A's got to Darwin in the bottom of the second as Mark McGwire pounded a home run all the way to China to give the A's the lead. Terry Steinbach laughed as he singled and took second on a wild pitch. Old pal Dave Henderson flipped off Darwin as he singled to left to move Terry to third. Mike Bordick banged into a double play but Steinbach scored to increase the lead. Lance Blankenship grounded out to short to end the inning but the A's were up 2-0.
Witt laughed at Tony Pena as Pena grounded out to short to start the top of the third. Luis Rivera hit a weak liner to center but somehow Zupcic drew a walk. Valentin lined out to right to end the inning. The A's struck again in the bottom of the third as Henderson singled and took second on the Seitzer grounder. Sierra then blasted a home run halfway to Oregon to ice the game. Neel grounded out to second and Zupcic had to climb the wall in center to rob McGwire of a home run to end the inning with the A's ahead 3-0.
Somehow the Sox countered in the top of the fourth inning as Greenwell doubled to center to start. Dawson's pop up dropped in for a hit and Greenwell moved to third. Vaughn scored Mike with a sac fly to put the Sox on the board and Quintana singled to right to put the tying run on. The rally ended as Cooper struck out swinging and Pena grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox down 3-1.
Somehow Darwin got through the bottom of the fourth as Steinbach grounded out to third to start. Dave Henderson grounded out to second and Bordick flied out to right to end the inning.
The Sox mustered nothing in the top of the fifth as Rivera grounded out to third to start. Zupcic took strike three and Valentin flied out to left to end the inning. The end came quickly for Darwin in the bottom of the fifth as Blankenship of all people hit a home run to New Zealand. Darwin got pissed off and threw at Henderson and started ripping his clothes off. Sox manager Butch Hobson woke up from his nap to get Darwin out of there. Danny once again failed to go 5 as he was pulled after 4 plus innings and 5 runs allowed. Paul Quantrill came in and immediately picked off Henderson before Seitzer singled to right. Sierra popped up to third but Neel walked. Once again Zupcic had to climb the wall to rob McGwire of a home run to end the inning with the A's ahead 5-1.
Greenwell popped up to third to start the top of the sixth and Dawson grounded out to third. Somehow Vaughn walked but Quintana grounded back to the mound to end the inning. The A's got to Quantrill too in the bottom of the sixth as Steinbach doubled to right to begin. Somehow Dave Henderson struck out swinging but Bordick singled up the middle. Somehow Vaughn ended up with the ball and threw it away allowing Steinbach to score and Bordick to go to second. Blankenship whiffed and Rickey Henderson took strike three to end the inning with the A's up 6-1.
The Sox managed to chase Witt in the top of the seventh as Cooper and Pena stroked back to back singles to start. Goose Gossage came in and Ernie Riles pinch hit for Rivera, lining a base hit to right to load the bases. With a chance to do some damage...Zupcic could only score Cooper with a sac fly. The slumping Valentin killed the rally with a double play to end the inning with the Sox down 6-2.
Quantrill cruised in the bottom of the seventh as Seitzer grounded out to second to begin. Sierra struck out swinging and Neel whiffed as well to end the inning.
The Sox failed to come back in the top of the eighth as Greenwell lined out to right to start. Dawson grounded out to third but Vaughn walked. Quintana flied out to left to end the inning. Ken Ryan came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and McGwire greeted him by clobbering a home run into the Rocky Mountains to wrap up the scoring. Steinbach doubled to left but Dave Henderson flied out to center. Bordick grounded back to the mound but Blankenship walked. Eric Fox pinch hit for Rickey Henderson and grounded out to third to end the inning with the A's ahead 7-2.
Gossage came back to close out the top of the ninth and Cooper whiffed to start. Billy Hatcher pinch hit for Pena and hit one up the elevator shaft. Riles grounded out to first to end the game, the A's had won it 7-2.
Jackass of the Night is Danny Darwin. He got hammered again for 5 runs in just 4 plus innings to take his fourth loss of the year.
The Good:
Mike Greenwell was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Mo Vaughn walked 3 times and drove in a run.
Tony Pena was 1 for 3.
Ernie Riles was 1 for 2 as a pinch hitter.
The Bad:
John Valentin was 0 for 4.
Billy Hatcher popped up as a pinch hitter.
Luis Rivera was 0 for 2.
Ken Ryan allowed a run in the ninth inning.
The Ugly:
Bob Zupcic was 0 for 2 but walked and drove in a run.
Andre Dawson was just 1 for 4.
Carlos Quintana was just 1 for 4 and committed an error.
Scott Cooper was ust 1 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but scored a run.
Paul Quantrill allowed an unearned run in 3 innings of work.
Final Thoughts:
The feel good sensation of the first two weeks is certainly gone now. Its back to reality for a team who just doesn't have great starting pitching besides Roger Clemens or a semblance of an offense. Once again Sox general manager Lou Gorman decided to go with aging veterans such as Andre Dawson and Ivan Calderon rather than rebuild with younger guys. At least Dawson has driven in some runs but Calderon hasn't done much. Its all coming to a head now and Gorman needs to correct his mistake before it gets too late. Scott Fletcher being out doesn't help but he isn't THAT important. The Sox try to salvage the road trip when they send Frank Viola (3-1) to the mound up against Bob Welch of the A's tomorrow afternoon at 3:15 PM Eastern time at Oakland Coliseum.
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