Final
Oakland leads 2-0 (as of 4/26)
| Game 1: Friday, April 25 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | 2 | Final |
| Oakland | 5 | |
| Recap »Boxscore » | ||
| Game 2: Saturday, April 26 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | 3 | Final |
| Oakland | 6 | |
| Recap »Boxscore » | ||
| Game 3: Sunday, April 27 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland | 3 | Final |
| Oakland | 4 | |
| Recap »Boxscore » | ||
4:05 PM ET, April 26, 2003
O.co Coliseum, Oakland, California
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- John Halama knew he had a no-hitter going but didn't want to spend any time thinking about it.
Halama held Cleveland hitless until the seventh inning and Erubiel Durazo hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly to lead the Oakland Athletics over the Indians 6-3 Saturday. Brandon Phillips singled with one out in the seventh for the Indians' first hit. Halama carried a no-hit bid deeper than any major league pitcher this season. "Why waste a thought process on something you have no control over?'' said Halama. "When I went out for the seventh I still had nine outs left. I'm just thinking about throwing the ball over the plate and getting guys out.'' Halama, however, did not get the decision. He was gone by the time the A's scored the go-ahead in the seventh off Terry Mulholland (0-1). Scott Hatteberg singled and went to third when catcher Tim Laker threw the ball away at second on Miguel Tejada's tapper. Reliever Carl Sadler struck out Eric Chavez, then gave up Durazo's sacrifice fly. "I thought that was a poor decision by Tim,'' said Indians manager Eric Wedge. "He got really aggressive there and that play really hurt us.'' The Indians lost their season-high fifth in a row. Chad Bradford (2-2) got the win with 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Keith Foulke pitched the ninth for his sixth save in seven opportunities. Cleveland starter Jake Westbrook allowed three runs over seven innings as the Indians matched their worst start since 1979 at 7-17. "Their lineup is so good it's frustrating when you pitch well and they still hit the ball,'' said Westbrook. Halama, who threw the first nine-inning perfect game in Pacific Coast League history in 2001, used 97 pitches to get through the first 6 1-3 innings. He struck out four and recorded 10 outs on grounders. "I was surprised by my control,'' said Halama. "I hadn't pitched for nine days. It's hard but it's part of my job. It was a matter of everything going right.'' He left the game to a standing ovation after giving up consecutive hits in the seventh. Halama's previous longest outing of the season came when he went 5 2-3 innings in a victory over the Anaheim Angels on April 5. "Halama did an outstanding job,'' said A's manager Ken Macha. "It's too bad he didn't get the win for how well he pitched.'' The A's broke a 1-1 tie with a pair of runs in the sixth. Eric Byrnes singled home one run and Chris Singleton, who had three hits, followed with an RBI double. Halama walked John McDonald to lead off the third. The Indians scored an unearned run when Karim Garcia's grounder to first base was mishandled by Hatteberg. The A's tied it in the fifth when Singleton doubled and Mark Ellis singled him home. The Indians scored twice in the seventh to make it 3-all. Both runs scored on pinch-hitter Bill Selby's misplayed grounder to first. Hatteberg field the ball cleanly, but Bradford dropped the throw while covering first base. Ellis and Tejada both singled home runs in the eighth.Game notes
Phillips was back in the lineup after missing two games with a bruised right hand. ... A's OF Jermaine Dye was placed on the 15-day DL with torn cartilage in his right knee. OF Jason Grabowski was recalled from Sacramento of the PCL to replace Dye. ... Indians OF Milton Bradley was placed on the 15-day DL with a strained right hamstring. OF Jody Gerut was recalled from Buffalo of the IL to take Bradley's spot and made his major league debut. ... Cleveland RHP Jason Bere was scheduled to pitch a simulated game before Sunday's game and will probably be sent on a rehab assignment soon after.
Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press
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Regular Season Series
| Oakland leads 6-3 (as of Sat 4/26) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fri 4/25 | @OAK 5, CLE 2 | Recap |
| » Sat 4/26 | @OAK 6, CLE 3 | Box Score |
| Sun 4/27 | @OAK 4, CLE 3 | Recap |
| Fri 5/16 | @CLE 3, OAK 2 | Recap |
| Sat 5/17 | @CLE 4, OAK 2 | Recap |
| Sun 5/18 | OAK 8, @CLE 5 | Recap |
| Tue 7/29 | @OAK 6, CLE 2 | Recap |
| Wed 7/30 | CLE 4, @OAK 2 | Recap |
| Thu 7/31 | @OAK 3, CLE 1 | Recap |
| Complete Schedule: Indians | Athletics | ||
Scoring Summary
| CLE | OAK | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd | K Garcia safe at first on error by first baseman S Hatteberg, J McDonald scored, E Burks to second. | 1 | 0 | |
| 5th | M Ellis singled to center, C Singleton scored. | 1 | 1 | |
| 6th | E Byrnes singled to left, E Durazo scored, T Long to second. | 1 | 2 | |
| 6th | C Singleton doubled to right center, T Long scored, E Byrnes to third. | 1 | 3 | |
| 7th | B Selby safe at first on error by pitcher C Bradford, B Phillips and J McDonald scored, O Vizquel to second. | 3 | 3 | |
| 7th | E Durazo hit sacrifice fly to center, S Hatteberg scored. | 3 | 4 | |
| 8th | M Ellis singled to center, C Singleton scored, M Johnson to second. | 3 | 5 | |
| 8th | M Tejada singled to right center, M Johnson scored, M Ellis to third, S Hatteberg to second. | 3 | 6 | |
| View complete Play-By-Play | ||||
Game Information
| Stadium | O.co Coliseum, Oakland, CA |
| Attendance | 36,346 (103.6% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:00 |
| Weather | 58 degrees, partly cloudy |
| Wind | 7 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Marvin Hudson, First Base - Greg Gibson, Second Base - Jerry Layne, Third Base - Dana Demuth |

