Brendan Donnelly's throwing error enabled Jeremy Brown to score the go-ahead run in the 10th inning Sunday, and the Oakland Athletics beat the Los Angeles Angels 11-10 to avoid being swept in a season-ending four-game series.
The A's, who played the finale like an exhibition game, open their best-of-five division series Tuesday at Minnesota, the AL Central champion.
The Twins went 6-4 against Oakland this season, including 5-1 at the Metrodome, and beat the A's in a division series four years ago before losing to the Angels in the AL championship series.
The A's (93-69), who clinched the AL West championship last Tuesday, enter the postseason having lost six of their last nine games. The Angels (89-73) won seven of their final nine.
Brown started the winning rally by hitting a two-out double off Chris Bootcheck (0-1). Donnelly relieved and walked D'Angelo Jimenez before Jay Payton hit a liner off Donnelly's left hip. The ball bounced toward the third base line before Donnelly picked it up and made a wild throw to first.
Chad Gaudin (4-2) pitched a perfect ninth to earn the victory. Ron Flores, the sixth Oakland pitcher, worked a 1-2-3 10th for his first major league save.
The first five batters in the Oakland lineup were all on the bench by the sixth inning. Frank Thomas hit a three-run homer and a sacrifice fly in his only plate appearances; Mark Kotsay had two hits and a walk, drove in a run and scored three times, and Milton Bradley had two hits and an RBI with a run scored.
Tim Salmon was hitless in four at-bats with a walk and a run scored in the final game of his 15-year career _ all with the Angels.
The 38-year-old outfielder-designated hitter is retiring with franchise-record totals of 299 homers and 986 runs scored along with 1,674 hits and 1,016 RBIs. He received a standing ovation from the crowd of 44,107 after popping up in the eighth in his last at-bat.
Rookie Jeff Mathis had a career-high three hits, including his second homer for the Angels, who also got home runs from Dallas McPherson and Robb Quinlan.
The A's scored three runs in the sixth against J.C. Romero and two relievers for a 10-8 lead on a sacrifice fly by Adam Melhuse, a run-scoring grounder by Dan Johnson and Payton's bases-loaded walk.
Quinlan hit his ninth homer off Jay Witasick in the seventh, and Maicer Izturis' run-scoring infield single off Huston Street in the eighth tied the game at 10. The blown save was Street's 11th this season.
Oakland's Rich Harden was ineffective in his third start since coming off the disabled list, issuing a season-high six walks and allowing three hits and six runs in 3 2-3 innings. Harden, a possibility to start Game 3 of the division series, threw 91 pitches _ only 44 for strikes.
Los Angeles' Dustin Moseley, making his second big league start, gave up 10 hits and seven runs in four innings.
Notes: The first three games in the Oakland-Minnesota division series are day games. The A's were an AL-best 40-21 in day games and the Twins were 27-20. ``We're used to playing during the day _ we have the second-most day games in baseball,'' manager Ken Macha said. ``I don't think it's going to matter.'' ... The Angels' 54-29 record since July 1 was the best in the majors. ... Thomas has hit 235 of his 487 homers as a designated hitter, tying former White Sox teammate Harold Baines for second on baseball's career list. Seattle's Edgar Martinez hit 243 homers as a DH. ... The Angels finished the season having committed an AL-high 123 errors and 80 unearned runs _ second-most in the majors to Cleveland. ... Salmon's wife, Marci, threw out the ceremonial first pitch, with Salmon serving as the catcher.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
