If there ever was a game that went almost exactly the way Oakland Athletics’ Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations, Billy Beane and general manager David Forst envisioned a game to go, it was Monday night’s game against the Texas Rangers. Everything went according to plan for the Oakland Athletics.
First, they had Sean Manaea – acquired from the Kansas City Royals as part of the Ben Zobrist deal – pitching effortlessly and effectively against one of the most prolific offenses in the American League. Then in the fourth inning, they had Billy Butler – a free agent signee – battling and fighting off pitches until he was able to get a two-out single to drive in a key run.