July 22, 2015: A’s celebrate extra-inning win over Blue Jays again after umpire’s call is upheld

After three consecutive playoff appearances from 2012 to 2014, including two American League West Division titles, the Oakland A’s made wholesale changes following the 2014 season in an effort to slash payroll. They traded their top two run-producers – third baseman Josh Donaldson (29 homers, 98 RBIs) and first baseman Brandon Moss (25 homers, 81 RBIs), both All-Stars – and starting catcher Derek Norris.1 They also lost shortstop Jed Lowrie to free agency.  

Not surprisingly, the A’s took a step backward in 2015. After an 8-8 start, Oakland won just four of its next 15 to drop to last place in the division on May 8, a position the A’s held for all but one day for the remainder of the season.2

Entering the second game of a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays on July 22, the A’s had won four of six to make their record 43-52, but they were 11 games behind the division-leading Los Angeles Angels. The previous day, Donaldson – dealt to the Blue Jays for four younger players in November 2014 – had received a standing ovation in his return to Oakland and belted two doubles and drove in a run in Toronto’s 7-1 win.3 The Blue Jays were just 48-47 but in second place in the AL East, 4½ games behind the New York Yankees.

The Oakland starter was their 25-year-old ace, Sonny Gray. In his third major-league season, Gray was 10-4 with a 2.29 ERA in 19 starts. In his previous start, on July 17, he had allowed a season-high five earned runs in six innings in a loss to the Minnesota Twins.4

Gray’s opponent was 27-year-old left-hander Félix Doubront, who was in his sixth and final major-league season. After being released in March by the Chicago Cubs, Doubront signed with Toronto and made his season debut on July 3. He was 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in three games (two starts).5 Doubront had enjoyed little success against Oakland in his career; in four career starts against the A’s, he was 1-2 with a 7.85 ERA in 18⅓ innings.

Following the A’s annual pregame Root Beer Float Day, which raised $34,709 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation,6 Donaldson collected another hit against his former teammates with a one-out line drive to center field in the first inning against Gray. José Bautista grounded a single to right to put two on, but Gray induced a 5-4-3 double play from Edwin Encarnación to end the threat.

After Gray pitched a perfect second inning, Toronto broke on top in the third. With one out, rookie second baseman Devon Travis walked and went to third when José Reyes lined a single to right. Donaldson continued to torment his old team when he dumped a single to right to score Travis with the game’s first run. Reyes moved to third on Bautista’s fly to deep center but was stranded when Encarnación grounded to Oakland third baseman Brett Lawrie, who had come to the A’s in the Donaldson trade.

Doubront worked around baserunners in each of the first three innings. He gave up a single to start the first inning to Billy Burns but benefited from a twin killing when Stephen Vogt followed with a groundball to second baseman Travis. In the second, he allowed a one-out single to Jake Smolinski and a walk to Lawrie before striking out Josh Phegley and getting rookie left fielder Mark Canha to bounce out to Donaldson, who forced Smolinski at second. Marcus Semien singled for Oakland to start the third and stole second but got no farther.

But Doubront’s luck ran out beginning in the fourth. With one out, Smolinski reached second on a throwing error by Donaldson. One out later, Phegley lined a single to tie the game.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Burns singled with one out and stole second on the first pitch to Vogt, a called strike by home-plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt. A’s manager Bob Melvin, fooled by his angle from the dugout and Toronto catcher Russell Martin’s early exit from his crouch to receive the ball, thought Doubront had delivered a pitchout and asked for clarification. Wendelstedt immediately ejected Melvin, who then ran from the dugout and argued the quick ejection.7

Had Melvin been allowed to stick around, he would have seen Burns score two pitches later on Vogt’s single to center, giving Oakland the lead.

Ben Zobrist followed with a double to left to put two runners in scoring position and Billy Butler was walked intentionally to load the bases. Smolinski lined a sacrifice fly to deep center to bring home Vogt and make the score 3-1. It was his seventh RBI in six games for Oakland since he was claimed off waivers from the Texas Rangers in June.

Liam Hendriks relieved Doubront and stranded two by getting Lawrie to line out to second baseman Travis.

After giving up the run in the third inning, Gray threw three scoreless innings but not without drama. With one out in the fourth, he allowed three singles to load the bases but escaped when Travis lined to Zobrist, who doubled Danny Valencia off first base. Gray then retired six of the next seven to get through the sixth before surrendering a home run to Valencia, his seventh of the season, to start the seventh. It was a 3-2 game.

Toronto threatened again in the top of the eighth against A’s reliever Edward Mujica. Encarnación led off with a single but was erased when Chris Colabello bounced into a 1-4-3 double play. Martin followed with a single and was replaced by pinch-runner Ezequiel Carrera, who advanced to second on a wild pitch but got no farther.

After the A’s failed to score in the bottom of the eighth, they turned to closer Tyler Clippard to finish the game. In his previous appearance, on July 18, Clippard had allowed two runs against the Minnesota Twins, ending a streak of eight consecutive successful save opportunities.

Clippard immediately struggled with his control, walking Valencia on a full-count pitch. After a double by Travis put two on, Reyes walked on a 3-and-2 pitch to fill the bases. Donaldson struck out, also on a full count, but Bautista drew a five-pitch walk to bring in Valencia and tie the game. Clippard settled down to strike out Encarnación and retire Dioner Navarro on a fly to center.8

Toronto reliever Brett Cecil, who had pitched a scoreless eighth, walked Burns with one out in the ninth and was replaced by 20-year-old rookie right-hander Roberto Osuna. Burns was caught stealing by backup catcher Navarro before Vogt ripped a single to right. Zobrist struck out swinging to send the game to extra innings.9

Oakland turned to reliever Fernando Rodríguez Jr., who needed just six pitches for a perfect 10th inning.

Osuna started the bottom of the 10th by striking out Butler, but Josh Reddick doubled down the left-field line and went to third on Lawrie’s groundout. Ike Davis batted for Phegley and grounded a two-strike pitch into the hole on the left side. Toronto shortstop Reyes ranged to his right, backhanded the ball, and fired to first base, but Davis was called safe by umpire Marvin Hudson on an extremely close play, as Reddick scored the winning run.10

As the A’s celebrated on the infield, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons immediately emerged from the dugout to challenge the call.11

Oakland players stood near the mound during the review that lasted 2 minutes and 45 seconds. The call was confirmed, and they celebrated the victory again.

“It’s awkward,” said Reddick of the pause while waiting for the call to be confirmed. “That’s a tough position to be in. The whole time we were thinking, ‘If they turn this over, we’re going to look like a bunch of idiots out here.’ Once they ruled him safe, we had planned we were going to sprint off with no high-fives. That was a tough situation to be in, just waiting and waiting. It felt like the longest replay we’ve had all year.”12

Even after the review, the Blue Jays were still not convinced of the result. “When you’re playing it happens so fast that you don’t have a good idea,” Valencia said. “But when you come back and look at it on replay, everybody in this clubhouse feels like he was out. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get it overturned.”13

Oakland manager Melvin was more diplomatic, having seen the play from the clubhouse due to his ejection. “You look at it real time and it’s close. They stay with what we’re told they’re supposed to do, is if there’s no definitive overturn, you stay with it. That was a little nerve-racking sitting there waiting on the verdict.”14

The A’s victory, their only one against Toronto in six games in 2015, pulled them to within eight games of .500, but they immediately dropped seven of the next eight on their way to a 68-94 record. The Blue Jays won the AL East and advanced to the AL Championship Series, where they lost to the eventual World Series champion Kansas City Royals in six games. 

Author’s Note

The author attended this game with his daughter and son while on a family vacation to San Francisco. Two days later they saw the A’s take on the Giants across the bay at AT&T Park. This was the only game he saw in Oakland.

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Laura Peebles and copy-edited by Len Levin.   

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted data from Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/OAK/OAK201507220.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2015/B07220OAK2015.htm

Photo credit: Josh Reddick, Trading Card Database.

Notes

1  Donaldson went to Toronto for Franklin Barreto, Kendall Graveman, Brett Lawrie, and Sean Nolin. Moss was dealt to the Cleveland Indians for Joey Wendle.

2 On three other different occasions, Oakland was tied for last place in the division with the Seattle Mariners.

3 In 2015, in his first season with the Blue Jays, Donaldson smacked 41 homers and led the AL in RBIs (123) and runs (122) and won the AL MVP Award over Mike Trout.

4 Gray had also allowed five earned runs (and one unearned run) against the Los Angeles Angels on June 19.

5 On July 31, Doubront was sold to Oakland, where in his final 11 major-league games (8 starts) he was 2-2 with a 5.81 ERA in 52⅔ innings.

6 The total amount raised from the 16-year-old event now exceeded $448,000. Associated Press, “Davis Beats Out Infield Single in 10th as A’s Top Blue Jays,” ESPN, July 23, 2015, https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap/_/gameId/350722111.

7 Jimmy Durkin, “Melvin Gets Boot, and A’s Bats Respond,” Oakland Tribune, July 23, 2015: C1.

8 Clippard had been acquired in a trade with the Washington Nationals in January that sent  Yunel Escobar to Washington. This was his last game with Oakland; he was traded with cash to the New York Mets for minor leaguer Casey Meisner on July 27.  

9 Navarro entered the game in the bottom of the eighth after starting catcher Martin left the game for pinch-runner Carrera in the top of the eighth. Navarro replaced first baseman Colabello with Valencia moving from left field to first base and Carrera going to left field.

10 “7/22/15: Davis’ walk-off in the 10th wins it for A’s,” YouTube video (MLB.com), 1:16, accessed October 20, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hrv_cL0kI8.

11 The major leagues had first adopted the use of instant replay in 2008 to review disputed home-run calls. It was expanded in 2014 to include baserunning calls, but only at the discretion of the umpires. The 2015 season was the first time that managers were allowed to request that a call be reviewed. Doug Gursha, “Baseball Replay Rules,” Rookieroad.com, https://www.rookieroad.com/baseball-replay-rules-9773303/. Accessed November 2024.

12 Associated Press, “Blue Jays Lose Close One to A’s That Goes to Replay Review in 10th Inning on Ike Davis Single,” Whitehorse (Yukon) Daily Star, July 23, 2015: 19.

13 Associated Press, “Blue Jays Lose Close One to A’s. …”

14 Associated Press, “Blue Jays Lose Close One to A’s. …”