Things looked grim for the Oakland Athletics<\/a> in the fifth inning on Saturday. With the team down 5-2 against the Detroit Tigers, disappointed fans flocked to the Shibe Park Tavern to watch the Warriors take on the Utah Jazz. When the A\u2019s put two runs on the board in the sixth, several fans appeared startled by the applause coming from below. One fan remarked \u201cOh. I forgot we were at a baseball game.\u201d<\/p>\n Fans had good reason to try to distract themselves from the product on the field. After stringing together an exciting five-game win streak, the A\u2019s went on to lose nine of 11 games. They led the league in errors and had the league’s worst fielding percentage. Their pitching suddenly looked like a weak point.\u00a0Sonny Gray<\/a><\/strong> returned from the DL and did not look like an ace in his first game back. Reliever Sean Doolittle<\/a> <\/strong>went on the DL, likely for an extended period of time, with the same shoulder injury that plagued him last season. Kendall Graveman<\/a><\/strong>, who looked terrific to start the season, had a 7.71 ERA since his return from the DL.<\/p>\n Fortunately, Oakland fans were in for a treat after the Warriors game wrapped up and they returned to their seats. Down 5-4 in the ninth with no one on base, recent call-up Bruce Maxwell<\/a><\/strong> worked a two-out walk. Matt Joyce<\/a><\/strong> followed that up with a double, and Adam Rosales<\/a><\/strong> smacked a two-out single to bring home both Maxwell and Joyce for the 6-5 victory. The fans woke up, the players ran onto the field, and Rosales was treated to a pie in the face and a Gatorade shower to boot.<\/p>\n The following day, the A\u2019s scored early, but Gray threw 36 pitches to start the fifth inning, going only 4.2 and surrendering seven hits. Oakland had a 4-1 lead entering the fifth inning, but that lead evaporated by the time the A’s stepped into the batter’s box in the bottom of the inning. Things were looking grim once again, but the A\u2019s were not done. Perhaps they were still feeling emboldened by the previous night\u2019s late-inning heroics, or perhaps it was the \u201chittles\u201d (more on that later). Whatever the reason, the A\u2019s came back for a second consecutive night.<\/p>\n Down 6-5 heading into the ninth, Jed Lowrie<\/a><\/strong> hit a double to center to bring home the game-tying run. Ryon Healy<\/a><\/strong> followed that up with a two-run homer to left for the win, and Kool and the Gang\u2019s Celebration<\/em> blared from the speakers for a second straight night. Healy received the requisite pie and Gatorade, and a bucket of Dubble Bubble was added for good measure. Healy wore the gum bucket on his head for the remainder of his post-game interview.<\/p>\n I'd say @rchealy25 got the fullest walkoff "treatment" I've ever seen the @Athletics<\/a> give. pic.twitter.com\/ZCyiEPN4xp<\/a><\/p>\n — Brodie Brazil (@BrodieBz) May 8, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nSunday, May 7<\/h3>\n
\n