HOFers help A's rally for Dream Bracket win
Martin Gallegos
@MartinJGallegosThe A’s avoided a huge upset in the opening round of MLB’s Dream Bracket.
Entering the tournament as the American League’s No. 2 seed, the A's dropped the first two games of a best-of-seven Out of the Park Baseball simulation series against the No. 14-seeded Tampa Bay Rays before storming back with some impressive pitching performances for four straight wins to ensure a trip to the second round of the bracket.
Leading the way on offense for the A's were a pair of early 1900s stars in Eddie Collins and Jimmie Foxx, who combined to go 18-for-43 with a home run and seven RBIs over the six games. The A’s bullpen, which featured some starters like Tim Hudson and Barry Zito as well as closers Dennis Eckersley and Huston Street, did not allow a single earned run in the series.
The MLB Dream Bracket is a 32-team best-of-seven simulation featuring all-time teams for each of the 30 current Major League franchises, as well as teams consisting of Negro Leagues Stars and 25 & Under Stars. The 26-man rosters for each team, compiled by the MLB.com beat reporters, consist of 15 hitters and 11 pitchers. For the simulation, players are rated using the average of their three best seasons on a single team. Rosters were constructed with balanced depth to specifically compete in a simulated regulation game.
Game 1: Rays 5, A’s 1
Jason Giambi, Reggie Jackson and Sal Bando were among the five A’s batters who went hitless as the offense as a whole struggled to get anything going against David Price, who tossed six innings of one-run ball. Catfish Hunter got the start for the A’s and struggled early, allowing four earned runs over 5 2/3 innings. He surrendered a pair of homers to Ben Zobrist, a two-run blast in the fourth and a solo shot in the sixth that chased the right-hander out of the game.
Game 2: Rays 3, A’s 2
The A’s sent Lefty Grove to the mound in the second game and while he saved the bullpen with a complete game, home runs were his undoing as all three runs allowed came on a pair of homers by Evan Longoria and Julio Lugo. The A's actually outhit the Rays, 9-5, but only managed to plate one run against starter James Shields through 5 1/3 innings. Reggie Jackson inched his club closer in the eighth with a solo blast off Jake McGee, but Fernando Rodney shut the door on the A’s with a scoreless ninth.
Game 3: A’s 8, Rays 7
The A’s returned to the Coliseum and found their offense just in time with an eight-run explosion on 12 hits. They needed all the offense they could get as Vida Blue struggled in his start, tagged for six runs over just three innings of work. Trailing by three runs entering the bottom of the ninth, the A’s strung together four runs against Fernando Rodney and Chris Archer, with Rickey Henderson walking it off on a bases-loaded walk.
Game 4: A’s 8, Rays 5
This was a collective effort on offense as eight of the nine A’s in the starting lineup reached base at least once. Jason Giambi led the charge with two RBIs and had one of four doubles on the day. Eddie Collins, Jimmie Foxx and Mickey Cochrane were the others who doubled. Dave Stewart grinded out five innings, allowing five runs (four earned) before the trio of Tim Hudson, Huston Street and Dennis Eckersley closed it out.
Game 5: A’s 5, Rays 0
Catfish Hunter bounced back from a rough first outing with one of the strongest performances in the entire tournament. The right-hander tossed a shutout, allowing just four hits. Sal Bando tallied three hits while Mickey Cochrane led the A’s with two RBIs.
Game 6: A’s 7, Rays 0
Lefty Grove closed the show in dominant fashion, striking out a series-high 11 batters over eight scoreless innings before handing it off to Barry Zito in the ninth. Helping Grove get comfortable was an A’s offense that jumped out to an early lead with four runs in the game’s first two innings against James Shields.
Awaiting the A’s in the second round are the No. 7 seed White Sox, who knocked off the No. 10 Royals over five games.
The MLB Dream Bracket is a 32-team best-of-seven simulation featuring all-time teams for each of the 30 current Major League franchises, as well as teams consisting of Negro Leagues Stars and 25 & Under Stars. The 26-man rosters for each of the teams, compiled by the MLB.com beat reporters, consist of 15 hitters and 11 pitchers. For the simulation, players are rated using the average of their three best seasons on a single team. Rosters were constructed with balanced depth to specifically compete in a simulated regulation game.