7/22/12 Recap

       Yesterday afternoon, the Mets looked to avoid the sweep against the LA Dodgers, but the real excitement didn't come until the bottom of the ninth. With a runner on 3rd and 1 out, Ike Davis came through with an RBI groundout to tie the game. There was no scoring until the top of the twelfth, with the bases loaded and two men out, Matt Treanor singled up the middle to bring home 2 runs to give the Dodgers a lead they would hold on to as they would score 3 more runs and take the victory 8-3. New York falls to under .500 for the first time since the 162nd game of last season with a victory over the Reds. However, Atlanta got murdered by the Nationals yesterday, so the Mets remain only 5 games back of the 2nd Wild Card.
       The Yankees yesterday were also looking to avoid a sweep against the "Moneyball 2" Oakland A's. There was no scoring until the top of the third when Mark Teixeira singled home Dewayne Wise, and the next batter Alex Rodriguez doubled in Chris Stewart and Curtis Granderson, and it was quickly 3-0 New York. Then in the top of the fourth, Granderson scored his 2nd run of the game with one swing, a solo shot into right to give the Yanks a 4-0 lead. Both Brandon Inge and Kurt Suzuki sit solo homers for the A's in the bottom of the fifth to cut the Yankee lead in half. The score became 4-3 in the sixth when Yoenis Cespedes scored on an Inge groundout. This was all until the bottom of the ninth when Seth Smith hit a solo shot to tie the game, and this game was going to extras as well. Then in the bottom of the twelfth, with Derek Norris on 2nd, Coco Crisp singled into right to bring home Norris, and the A's swept the New York Yankees. New York's AL East division lead is now down to 6 games with a Baltimore victory yesterday, and the surprisingly competitive Oakland Athletics are now in a tie with the Baltimore Orioles for the AL's 2nd Wild Card.