Haddix Would Be Proud

The A's and Angels hooked up in an old-fashioned pitcher's duel that ended with one of them new-fangled home runs in the 10th inning deals. Jarrod Washburn, pitching on three days' rest for the first time in the majors, and Mark Mulder locked horns for eight and nine shutout innings, respectively. Mulder had more strikeouts, but Washburn allowed fewer hits. Neither allowed a walk and neither figured in the game's decison, which is a shame.

Oakland closer Billy Koch, who has had his problems of late, allowed a one-out home run to Tim Salmon to left on a 7-pitch full count in the top of the 10th (notice a pattern for closers in non-save situations?).

The Angels now go up by a game in the AL West with two games left in the series. It's great to see these two teams pulling out all the stops to win the division even though the loser will win the wild card anyway.