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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- When told the Athletics formally
eliminated both Toronto and Boston from wild-card contention Wednesday,
Oakland manager Art Howe smiled.
"I want to hear that we eliminated Cleveland," he said.
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Rolling through September
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The A's are 19-6 in September. Here's a rundown of each game they've played this month.
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Date
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Opp.
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Score
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Skinny
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9/1
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Tor.
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3-4
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Lose in bottom of 9th
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9/2
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Tor.
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8-0
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Stairs, Tejada each have 3 RBI
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9/3
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Tor.
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4-3
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Hudson gets 15th win
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9/4
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Tor.
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10-0
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Stanley 5-for-5, 5 RBI
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9/5
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Bos.
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3-10
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Boston pounds Appier
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9/6
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Bos.
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6-4
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Mulder and Co. outlast Sox
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9/8
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T.B.
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0-4
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Devil Rays beat Heredia
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9/9
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T.B.
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10-0
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Hudson CG two-hitter
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9/10
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T.B.
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11-0
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Zito CG five-hitter
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9/11
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T.B.
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5-1
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Appier 1 run over 8 inn.
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9/12
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Minn.
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5-3
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Ja. Giambi 3-for-3, 3 RBI
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9/13
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Minn.
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6-7
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Twins get 16 hits
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9/15
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T.B.
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17-3
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Ja. Giambi 7 RBI
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9/16
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T.B.
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5-2
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Hudson gets 17th win
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9/18
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Balt.
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12-3
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Tejada 3 hits, 3 RBI
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9/19
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Balt.
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7-4
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5 runs in 7th wins it
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9/20
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Balt.
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0-2
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Can't solve McElroy
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9/20
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Balt.
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4-0
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Heredia gets 15th win
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9/21
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Sea.
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5-2
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Stairs' 2-run single nets winner
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9/22
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Sea.
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8-3
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5-run 1st fuels rout
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9/23
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Sea.
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8-2
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Grieve slugs grand slam
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9/24
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Sea.
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2-3
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Mariners salvage finale
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9/25
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Ana.
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7-5
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Je. Giambi 3-run triple starts it
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9/26
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Ana.
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10-3
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Hudson records 19th win
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9/27
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Ana.
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9-7
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Long gets big hit with 2-run homer
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The Athletics beat the Anaheim Angels 9-7 Wednesday and tied
Seattle for the AL West lead.
The A's entered the day a half-game back of the Mariners in the
AL West. The Mariners played host to Texas later Wednesday. Oakland
remained 1½ games up on Cleveland in the wild card chase as the
Indians beat Minnesota 8-2.
Rookie Terrence Long's fifth-inning two-run homer, his 18th,
broke a 5-all tie in a game that had four lead changes. He also had
a sacrifice fly.
"What have I been saying all year?" Howe asked. "It is going
to come down to the final series. I wish I had been wrong."
After the A's and Angels wrap up their four-game series Thursday, Texas comes to Oakland for the final three games of the
regular season.
"If we keep playing as we have, we should play well into
October," said closer Jason Isringhausen, who had the final three
outs Wednesday for his 31st save.
Darin Erstad's solo home run in the second inning gave him 99
RBI this season, the most ever for a leadoff batter. Boston's
Nomar Garciaparra had 98 in 1997.
Erstad was 4-for-5 and needed a triple for the cycle. He also
was intentionally walked.
"It sounds corny but I play to win. I want to win," Erstad
said. "We all want good numbers, but I want the team to do well."
Doug Jones (4-2) allowed a run on two hits in 1 1/3 innings with
a strikeout and two walks for the win.
The Angels jumped out early on Garret Anderson's two-run double
off Gil Heredia in the first. Anderson finished 4-for-5.
The Athletics tied it up with two outs in the bottom of the
inning on Ben Grieve's two-run single off Al Levine.
The Angels took back the lead with Erstad's home run into the
right-field seats in the second inning, his career-high 25th of the
season.
Long's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning scored Jeremy
Giambi, who singled. Levine walked Randy Velarde and Jason Giambi,
and Matt Stairs hit a two-run double to give the A's a 5-3 lead.
|  | | Terrence Long's two-run homer off the Angels' Mike Holtz in the fifth inning helped Oakland win its third straight. |
The Angels tied it again in the fifth. Anderson singled, went to
second on Troy Glaus' double and scored on Adam Kennedy's sacrifice
fly off Jones. Matt Walbeck singled and Glaus scored on catcher
Ramon Hernandez's throwing error to third.
After Long's home run in the fifth, the Angels narrowed the gap
on Kennedy's run-scoring double in the sixth.
Eric Chavez hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning and
Orlando Palmeiro dropped a popup to right, allowing another run.
Glaus drew a two-out walk off Jim Mecir in the eighth and scored
after two wild pitches.
Mike Holtz (2-3) went 1 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on
three hits.
Levine left after just 1 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on five
hits with five walks.
"Al never got into a groove. He couldn't find the zone, and
when you can't do that, they can take advantage of you, which they
did," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.
Game notes
Oakland's first-inning runs came with two outs, a day after
all their runs in a 10-3 victory over the Angels came with two
outs. ... The Athletics' 19-6 record in September is their best
showing for the month since going 20-8 in 1990. ... Levine threw 51
pitches, only 18 for strikes. ... Anderson has hit safely in 20 of
25 games, and leads the Angels with seven multihit games. ... The
Angels were formally eliminated from the postseason with their loss
Tuesday night. .... Anaheim's Mo Vaughn, one homer shy of 300 for
his career, struck out three times. .... It was Erstad's fifth
four-hit game of the year. He leads the majors with 234 hits.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Anaheim Clubhouse
Oakland Clubhouse
RECAPS
Oakland 9
Anaheim 7
Toronto 4
Baltimore 0
Cleveland 8
Minnesota 2
Tampa Bay 11
NY Yankees 1
Boston 2
Chi. White Sox 1
Kansas City 3
Detroit 0
Seattle 6
Texas 4
Florida 6
Montreal 3
Houston 10
Pittsburgh 1
NY Mets 6
Atlanta 2
Chicago Cubs 1
Philadelphia 0
Milwaukee 10
Cincinnati 6
Colorado 6
Arizona 4
San Francisco 4
Los Angeles 0
St. Louis 3
San Diego 0
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Art Howe says every game is a must win game.
wav: 153 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Eric Chavez says that this is the right time to be hot.
wav: 101 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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