Josh Donaldson hits walk-off home run (Video)
By Hayden Kane
The Oakland Athletics defeated the Baltimore Orioles by a final score of 5-4 on Friday night as the second half of the baseball season got underway. In a showdown between two teams that got heated with one another over perceived unwritten rule violations earlier this summer, this game came down to play on the field between two potential contenders.
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Interestingly enough, the key moments on the field Friday night came down to the two third basemen on either side of things. That would be the same two guys, Manny Machado and Josh Donaldson, who nearly got into it the last time around when Machado did not care for the way he was tagged and wanted to fight (and proceeded to throw his bat the next day).
Machado blasted a two-run shot in the seventh inning that looked like it was going to be the deciding moment in this one. It held up as such until Donaldson got his chance in the bottom of the ninth inning with two guys on against Orioles’ closer Zach Britton.
Britton got too much of the plate with a pitch down and Donaldson did not miss it; the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game participant sent it over the center field wall and got the A’s off to a strong start for the second half of the season.
Check out video of the walk-off blast below: