A's get upper hand in wild win Bradley returns to DL with strained right calf Friday night's wacky 10th-inning session of musical chairs is one that could live long in Giants' lore. We're talking along the lines of: Who's on first, What's on second ..
. Randy Winn's on third and Pedro Feliz is behind the plate? And pitcher Noah Lowry's in right field?
So much for thinking that the Giants' late-inning hijinks ended with Armando Benitez's exodus last week. The Giants ended up losing 5-3 in 10 innings to the A's in a riveting opener of their three-game series at AT T Park. But, oh, how the home team went down fighting.
"We were pulling together trying to win. It would have been exciting if we won. Losing two guys, though, that'll be tough to swallow.
" Losing right fielder Fred Lewis to an oblique strain in the first inning was one thing, but losing backup catcher Eliezer Alfonzo to a sprained knee in the 10th was quite another. We should have known what a wild finish we were in for when Barry Bonds hit a game-tying single in the seventh inning, and then, get this, promptly stole second to bring to life the ballpark and his teammates. About an hour later, all heck broke loose on Bruce Bochy's lineup card, courtesy of a fantastic play at the plate in the decisive 10th inning.
Bochy found himself taking applications for the job of fourth-string catcher when Eliezer Alfonzo injured his left leg blocking the plate and tagging out pinch-runner -- and potential tying run -- Donnie Murphy, who broke for home on Mark Kotsay's sharp grounder to Klesko at first. Suddenly, the Giants transformed themselves into a team. All for one, one for all stuff.
Molina departed in the fifth at the same time as starting pitcher Tim Lincecum. Nor was emergency catcher Kevin Frandsen available, having been used in the ninth as a pinch hitter in the No. So began the search for a No.
Bochy met with his infielders at home plate and panned for options while trainers tended to Alfonzo. "Everybody was trying to figure something out," Klesko said. "I asked if anybody had a left-handed catcher's mitt, 'cause I used to catch bullpen back in the day.
Pete (Pedro Feliz) said, 'I've never caught, but I will.' Ray (Durham) said he would.
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