Oakland Athletics’ Roundup: Luke Gregerson in Wild Card Game; Ron Washington Leaving?
Oakland Athletics Roundup: Wednesday, October 7
On Tuesday night, the Houston Astros headed to the city that never sleeps to take on the New York Yankees in a one-game playoff. In a battle of stellar pitching and big bats, the ‘Stros were the champions – advancing to the American League Division Series with a 3-0 win over the Yankees. It was a solid victory for the Oakland Athletics’ division rivals, who won behind a stellar effort from ace Dallas Keuchel. Keuchel went six strong innings after just three days of rest, allowing just three hits and a walk while striking out seven.
But one of the minor storylines in Tuesday’s game was the story of playoff redemption for closer Luke Gregerson. Gregerson, who pitched for the A’s last season, can be partially blamed for the A’s elimination from the playoffs by Kansas City. When he came in to pitch during the eighth inning, in relief of Jon Lester, the A’s had a 7-4 lead. By the time the inning ended, Kansas City was only down by one – helping them considerably on their way to a 9-8 extra-inning victory over Oakland. Gregerson, who came in with runners at first and second, allowed both runners to score and left the A’s with a slim 7-6 margin to hold on to. Although none of the runs were technically charged to him, Gregerson certainly played a major role in the A’s loss.
Not so on Tuesday. Gregerson, who has been a stellar closer for the Astros all season, came on in the ninth and didn’t just hold the lead – he closed out the game in spectacular fashion. Facing the heart of the Yankees lineup, Gregerson struck out Carlos Beltran and Alex Rodriguez before getting Brian McCann to ground out to the shortstop for the final out of the game.
If only he could have done that last season.
In Case You Missed It:
Ron Washington May Not Be With the A’s in 2016 – The A’s dismissed third base coach Mike Gallego in favor of Ron Washington this season, so why wouldn’t he return next season? Samantha Riley explains why that’s a very real possibility.
What Does the A’s Front Office Movement Actually Mean? – The new job titles for Billy Beane and David Forst might have come as a surprise for some. Does a .420 record really justify a pair of promotions for the front office staff? Regardless, the moves have been made, and Evan Giddings does a great job of explaining what those changes mean for the A’s.
#Athletics:
Josh Reddick is the #Athletics nominee for the Hank Aaron Award.
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) October 5, 2015
Day 2: Getting to know the guys. It's been really great. Couple players said they hoped I would be at Spring Training too. Fun day coaching.
— Justine Siegal PhD (@justinebaseball) October 6, 2015
Around the Web:
CSN: Reddick Contract Extension Possible – There are varying opinions about Josh Reddick, but could he be headed for a contract extension?