http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_18758205
New York Yankees hit record three grand slams, rout Oakland A's 22-9
By Joe Stiglich
Posted: 08/25/2011 04:17:04 PM PDT
Updated: 08/25/2011 09:53:08 PM PDT
New York Yankees' Russell Martin, right, rounds the bases after hitting a grand slam off Oakland...?12?NEW YORK -- The A's took the field looking for a three-game sweep Thursday but instead made some unwanted history.
They watched an early six-run lead transform into a 22-9 loss to the New York Yankees, a 4-hour, 31-minute marathon that was every bit as ugly as the score suggested.
The Yankees became the first team in major league history to hit three grand slams in one game, as Robinson Cano, Russell Martin and Curtis Granderson all cleared the bases with homers.
Starting pitcher Rich Harden and five relievers combined to allow the most runs the A's have surrendered since moving to Oakland in 1968.
The final stats were enough to make the head spin, but the numbers all led back to the same question:
How did it happen?
The A's led 7-1 entering the bottom of the fourth, then watched the Yankees score 15 unanswered runs through the seventh.
"It only counts as one," A's manager Bob Melvin said of the loss. "Unfortunately, it was embarrassing. We had a lead and couldn't hold it, and it just got out of hand."
The A's won the first two of the series and were shooting for their first sweep of New York since taking three at Yankee Stadium from June 9-11, 2006.
Instead, they allowed the Yankees to tie their franchise mark for most runs scored in a home game. New York routed the Chicago White Sox 22-5 on July 26, 1931.
After sitting through a 1-hour, 29-minute rain delay, Oakland jumped ahead 7-1 thanks to a five-run third that included Cliff Pennington's three-run homer.
But things unraveled for Harden in the fifth, when Cano belted a grand slam to right that made it 7-6.
Harden left with one out in the fifth, and the A's bullpen issued 12 walks over the final 32/3 innings, an Oakland record for walks allowed by relievers.
The A's issued 13 free passes total -- all after the fourth inning -- the most walks they've allowed in a nine-inning game since Sept. 1, 1995, also against the Yankees.
New York took the lead for good on Martin's sixth-inning grand slam off Fautino De Los Santos (2-1), which made it 10-7.
Martin had the game of a lifetime, going 5 for 5 with two homers and six RBIs. But he was more amazed by his team's total output.
"Just to have an opportunity to hit three (slams) in a day is pretty special," Martin said. "They've been playing this game for a long time. Pretty much everything has already happened. I'm just waiting to see who can hit four."
A's left-hander Jordan Norberto allowed four runs and five walks in just two-thirds of an inning. Bruce Billings relieved him in the seventh and gave up seven runs on six hits and four walks in 11/3 innings.
"That was rough, to say the least," Billings said. "It just seemed like we were all out of sync."
Granderson connected off Billings in the eighth for New York's third grand slam. For all the legendary sluggers to wear Yankee pinstripes, no previous squad had accomplished such a feat.
But it's easier when you have 16 plate appearances with the bases loaded, as New York did.
The A's don't have much time to lick their wounds with a three-game series starting Friday at Boston. At 80-50, the Red Sox are the only A.L. team with a better record than the Yankees.
Melvin said he wants his team to feel good about taking two of three from New York and realize Thursday was just one game.
"Hopefully that's what it was," Harden said. "It's a frustrating one, but we've still got a game tomorrow, and that's what everybody's focus is."
Big Numbers
3 Grand slams by the Yankees, a major league record
16 Plate appearances by the Yankees with the bases loaded
22 Most runs allowed by an A's team since moving to Oakland in 1968
12 Walks allowed by the A's bullpen in 32/3 innings
New York Yankees hit record three grand slams, rout Oakland A's 22-9
By Joe Stiglich
Posted: 08/25/2011 04:17:04 PM PDT
Updated: 08/25/2011 09:53:08 PM PDT
New York Yankees' Russell Martin, right, rounds the bases after hitting a grand slam off Oakland...?12?NEW YORK -- The A's took the field looking for a three-game sweep Thursday but instead made some unwanted history.
They watched an early six-run lead transform into a 22-9 loss to the New York Yankees, a 4-hour, 31-minute marathon that was every bit as ugly as the score suggested.
The Yankees became the first team in major league history to hit three grand slams in one game, as Robinson Cano, Russell Martin and Curtis Granderson all cleared the bases with homers.
Starting pitcher Rich Harden and five relievers combined to allow the most runs the A's have surrendered since moving to Oakland in 1968.
The final stats were enough to make the head spin, but the numbers all led back to the same question:
How did it happen?
The A's led 7-1 entering the bottom of the fourth, then watched the Yankees score 15 unanswered runs through the seventh.
"It only counts as one," A's manager Bob Melvin said of the loss. "Unfortunately, it was embarrassing. We had a lead and couldn't hold it, and it just got out of hand."
The A's won the first two of the series and were shooting for their first sweep of New York since taking three at Yankee Stadium from June 9-11, 2006.
Instead, they allowed the Yankees to tie their franchise mark for most runs scored in a home game. New York routed the Chicago White Sox 22-5 on July 26, 1931.
After sitting through a 1-hour, 29-minute rain delay, Oakland jumped ahead 7-1 thanks to a five-run third that included Cliff Pennington's three-run homer.
But things unraveled for Harden in the fifth, when Cano belted a grand slam to right that made it 7-6.
Harden left with one out in the fifth, and the A's bullpen issued 12 walks over the final 32/3 innings, an Oakland record for walks allowed by relievers.
The A's issued 13 free passes total -- all after the fourth inning -- the most walks they've allowed in a nine-inning game since Sept. 1, 1995, also against the Yankees.
New York took the lead for good on Martin's sixth-inning grand slam off Fautino De Los Santos (2-1), which made it 10-7.
Martin had the game of a lifetime, going 5 for 5 with two homers and six RBIs. But he was more amazed by his team's total output.
"Just to have an opportunity to hit three (slams) in a day is pretty special," Martin said. "They've been playing this game for a long time. Pretty much everything has already happened. I'm just waiting to see who can hit four."
A's left-hander Jordan Norberto allowed four runs and five walks in just two-thirds of an inning. Bruce Billings relieved him in the seventh and gave up seven runs on six hits and four walks in 11/3 innings.
"That was rough, to say the least," Billings said. "It just seemed like we were all out of sync."
Granderson connected off Billings in the eighth for New York's third grand slam. For all the legendary sluggers to wear Yankee pinstripes, no previous squad had accomplished such a feat.
But it's easier when you have 16 plate appearances with the bases loaded, as New York did.
The A's don't have much time to lick their wounds with a three-game series starting Friday at Boston. At 80-50, the Red Sox are the only A.L. team with a better record than the Yankees.
Melvin said he wants his team to feel good about taking two of three from New York and realize Thursday was just one game.
"Hopefully that's what it was," Harden said. "It's a frustrating one, but we've still got a game tomorrow, and that's what everybody's focus is."
Big Numbers
3 Grand slams by the Yankees, a major league record
16 Plate appearances by the Yankees with the bases loaded
22 Most runs allowed by an A's team since moving to Oakland in 1968
12 Walks allowed by the A's bullpen in 32/3 innings
