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Angel's start begins badly, ends perfectly
By TIMES WIRES
Published July 9, 2006
From the Ballpark to the Battlefield: Baseball and WWII
From the Ballpark to the Battlefield: Baseball and WWII is scheduled to air at 8 tonight on Fox News Channel as part of War Stories with Oliver North. Players past and present, from Yogi Berra to Curt Schilling, talk about the game and its role during times of war, from players in uniform to entertainment on the front lines.
OAKLAND - This was John Lackey's Game 7 all over again, an outing when he was so locked into the moment, he would not be denied.
The A's are not among Lackey's favorite teams. Re-venge was the order of the day, and the Angels right-hander served it with blazing fastballs and biting curves.
Lackey gave up a double to Mark Kotsay to start the game then nothing else, retiring the next 27 batters in a 3-0 win.
"I knew I was pitching well, but I wasn't aware that nobody got on base until after the game," said Lackey, who started and won Game 7 of the 2002 World Series against the Giants. "I knew I hadn't been in the stretch for awhile."
It was the first time a pitcher allowed a hit to the first batter then retired the next 27 since the Dodgers' Jerry Reuss on June 11, 1982, against the Reds.
"John was as locked in as we've seen him," manager Mike Scioscia said. "Not only was he throwing strikes ... he had the ball in great spots all night. I thought he did a good job of changing some looks and mixing some breaking balls in."
On May 2, Oakland's Jason Kendall charged Lackey on the mound, but that wasn't the only reason he was angry. With one out to go and the A's ahead 10-3, Oakland reliever Chad Gaudin hit Robb Quinlan with a pitch.
Friday was Lackey's first chance at revenge, though he downplayed it after the game, in which Quinlan hit a two-run homer.
"I would have been focused against these guys anyway," he said.
For now anyway, Lackey isn't thinking about what might have been.
"It doesn't feel like I just missed," he said. "I was in the stretch trying to get out of a jam right out of the gate."
[Last modified July 9, 2006, 02:34:29]
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