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A's Celebrate, Wait For Review In Extra Inning Win Over Blue Jays

OAKLAND (CBS SF/AP) – The bang-bang final play happened so fast Danny Valencia wasn't sure whether Oakland pinch-hitter Ike Davis had beaten out an infield single for the winning run in the 10th inning.

Toronto manager John Gibbons immediately challenged as the Athletics had already begun their celebration.

A review of 2 minutes, 45 seconds confirmed that Davis was barely safe ahead of shortstop Jose Reyes' throw, lifting the A's past the Blue Jays 4-3 on Wednesday night.

Once Valencia and the rest of the players returned to their clubhouse and watched the replay, they were still wondering if the call was right.

"When you're playing it happens so fast that you don't have a good idea. But when you come back and look at it on replay, everybody in this clubhouse feels like he was out," Valencia said. "Unfortunately we couldn't get it overturned. It is what it is."

The play went to review with Oakland's players jumping up and down near the mound.

Davis got credit for his fifth career walkoff hit and first since July 1, 2014. That ended the 3-hour, 49-minute game.

"That's part of the process now, but it's over," Gibbons said.

Josh Reddick hit a one-out double against Roberto Osuna (1-4) to start things off in the bottom of the 10th.

The A's hoped their celebration would hold up.

"It's awkward. That's a tough position to be in. The whole time we were thinking, 'If they turn this over we're going to look like a bunch of idiots out here,'" Reddick said of the celebration. "Once they ruled him safe, we had planned we were going to sprint off with no high-fives. That was a tough situation to be in, just waiting and waiting. It felt like the longest replay we've had all year."

Fernando Rodriguez (1-1) pitched the top half of the 10th for the win.

A's manager Bob Melvin watched all the drama from inside after being ejected in the fifth.

"You look at it real time and it's close," Melvin said. "They stayed with what we're told they're supposed to do, is if there's no definitive overturn, you stay with it. That was a little nerve-racking sitting there waiting on the verdict."

A's closer Tyler Clippard blew a second straight save opportunity in the ninth to waste a strong start by All-Star Sonny Gray. Clippard loaded the bases with no outs then struck out former A's star Josh Donaldson on a 3-2 pitch for the first out. He then walked Jose Bautista to force home the tying run.

Gray gave up nine hits and two runs, struck out three and walked two in seven innings. Edward Mujica worked the eighth then gave way to Clippard, who blew a save Saturday against the Twins.

Clippard walked leadoff batter Valencia before Devon Travis doubled.

Josh Phegley and Stephen Vogt each hit RBI singles for Oakland and Jake Smolinski drove in a run for the fourth straight game with a sacrifice fly.

Valencia homered in the seventh, but Gray did enough to help put Oakland in position for a third straight series win heading into Thursday's rubber game.

Smolinski has seven RBIs in his past four games and has played in six games for Oakland since being claimed from division rival Texas.

Felix Doubront made his fifth career start against the A's and has gone five innings in only one of those outings.

© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

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