4/2/14 at the Oakland Coliseum
Well… I promised a new entry for the past few days. I’ve been really busy and haven’t had time to post. Sorry!
Rain, rain GO AWAY! We had tickets to the A’s game on April 1st. But it rained. A lot. My mom, sister and I got to the stadium around 5pm on Tuesday. They postponed the game right before the gates opened. It was moved to 6pm the next day.
There was a game scheduled for 12:35 on Wednesday as well, so it was technically a day-night doubleheader! My mom and I decided to go to just the second game. A few hours before the game started, I found a great deal on StubHub for some AMAZING seats. so, I bought them and my mom and I went to the game!
We got to the Coliseum around 4:20. Eventually, the two of us headed to the Season Ticket Holder gate, where we entered the stadium. Because of the previosu game, gates did not open until 5pm, but it was still a good time! Here is the view from our seats…
We were RIGHT above the Diamond Level seats. Pretty cool! From there, my mom and I decided to wander around the stadium a bit. The Coliseum changed food providers over the offseason, so the two of us wanted to check out what else there was. We more or less just walked around for a while.
On our way to the right field bleachers, I decided to stop at the Authentic Memorabilia Stand, where they had locker name plates for $5 each. This one caught my eye, so I bought it!
If you remember, I bought his jersey back in February at FanFest, so it’s cool that I have Mike Ekstrom’s jersey and locker nameplate!
It was already 5:45 at this point, so my mom and I headed back to our seats. We walked around some more, talked with some people, and got food
An A’s fan threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Dan Straily caught it and took a picture with her.
Because we were so close to the field, I had fun taking photos like this.
It was weird to see the bleachers from across the stadium.
It looked like everyone was having a good time.
Here are the umpires and coaches meeting at home plate.
On the mound for Oakland was Josh Lindblom, who we got in the trade with Craig Gentry for Michael Choice.
Because the doubleheader was scheduled so suddenly, both teams were allowed to carry 26 players for this game. The A’s called up Lindblom so that the starting pitchers’ schedules would not be messed up.
Here are a couple of pictures I took of Josh Donaldson as he was standing on deck.
I loved the chance to get up-close photos like this.
The batter pictured above, Sam Fuld tripled to lead off the game.
Donaldson fouled a ball back that shook the umpire up quite a bit.
He ended up being fine.
Jed Lowrie was starting at shortstop.
And John Jaso was once again behind the plate.
After every half inning, this guy would walk onto the field and hold up a red, yellow, blue, and green card, in that order. My guess is that it has something to do with the replay system.
Josh Lindblom pitched fairly well, throwing 4 2/3 innings, allowing 5 hits and 2 runs, while striking out 2 Indians batters.
Drew Pomeranz relieved him, finishing off the 5th inning and getting the first two outs of the 6th.
Like I mentioned, I loved being able to get photos this close up!
My mom commented on the fact that given that we sit in right field, we rarely get to see the front of Josh Reddick. For those of you wondering what he looks like, here you go!
My mom also had a fun time taking pictures; she got some really good ones! I laughed at this one, especially.
It looked like everyone in right field was having a great time!
For my second straight game, the Indians challenged a call in the sixth inning. This time, it was on a tag play at second base.
And this time the call was overturned in the Indians favor.
After Drew Pomeranz struck out a batter, Luke Gregerson came in to pitch the rest of the inning.
He got Ryan Raburn to fly out to Yoenis Cespedes on two pitches.
He also pitched the 7th inning, where he walked a batter, allowed a single, and a run. This tied the game up at 3.
Like I mentioned earlier, my mom and I really enjoyed being able to take pictures much more up-close than we would from RF.
I liked this picture a lot, for some reason.
The A’s scored a run in the bottom of the 7th, so Sean Doolittle came on in the 8th to pitch for the A’s.
He pitched a 1-2-3 inning, sending the game to the bottom of the 8th. The A’s were unable to score a run, sending the game to the 9th.
Who did the A’s call upon to close out the game? Their closer, of course! Jim Johnson entered the game for the ninth inning, hoping to earn his first save of the season. You may remember what happened last time he pitched. It was Opening Day. You can check out that blog entry here.
Once again, he blew it. He allowed three runs and the A’s lost 6-4. Dang…
I had been chasing foul balls all game, but only came close to one. But, I didn’t get it. In the bottom of the 9th, I headed over to the umpire tunnel once again in hopes of avoiding the shutout. But, I had no luck. For the first time this season, I snagged no balls. It sucked, but the situation was out of my control. Oh well!
- 2nd game this year (2nd MLB Game)
- 0 balls at this game
- 1 ball in 2 MLB games this season = 0.5 Balls Per Game
- 1 baseball this season
- 69 Lifetime MLB Baseballs
- 164 Lifetime Baseballs
Nick Badders is a blogger for MLB.com. He writes the blog, 7000 Coliseum Way, and you can follow him on Twitter @RFNick149. You can also LIKE his blog on Facebook. This blog entry was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
7000 Coliseum Way 
Sick game! I have always wanted to go to an A’s game in Oakland!
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