Back in our old neighborhood in Alameda today, a friend and I decided there could be no better way to spend the day than by making the short drive to the ballpark. My friend, my younger son and I were rewarded with an entertaining game at the coliseum in Oakland. The Kansas City Royals pounded out 15 hits en route to an 11-6 victory over the Athletics in a game that was much closer than the score shows.
While the temperature was about perfect in the upper sixties as we sat along the third base line, the wind was giving the ball plenty of carry to the outfield. KC’s Billy Butler took advantage by swatting two home runs. His second was a monster that clapped off a wall well past the center field fence and tied the game at 6-6.
The Royals erupted for five runs in the top of the ninth. The A’s went meekly in the bottom half to end the game, which also featured Kansas City turning a flashy 4-6-3 double play.
As is typical at the Oakland ballpark (now called the O.co Coliseum, if you want to get technical, and I don’t), the crowd was thin, just 14,577 of us.
There were plenty of highlights on both sides, if you look past some shoddy pitching. All in all, nothing beats a day of baseball in the sunshine.
