LAS VEGAS (AP) — The first pitch to an Athletics player Monday night in Las Vegas was an explosive welcome.
Shea Langeliers sent a shot 483 feet in the first sign of the madness to come in a 15-14, 12-inning game that introduced the city to its eventual MLB club.
The Milwaukee Brewers were the winners, but so too were the fans.
“It's the most bizarre game I've ever had in Major League Baseball in 11 years,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “I never saw
anything like it. So many things happened. There were 16 challenges in the game. Sixteen challenges in the game. I've never seen anything like it.”
Oh, yes, the challenges.
It wasn't just the pitchers who had a rough night. Home plate umpire Clint Vondrak had 11 of 16 challenges for ball and strikes overturned and, according to Umpire Scorecards, he missed three other calls that potentially impacted the game.
This series is being played at Las Vegas Ballpark, home of the A's Triple-A affiliate. The A's play the Brewers again Tuesday and Wednesday and will host the Colorado Rockies in a three-game series beginning Friday as they begin to introduce themselves to the Las Vegas fan base. The club is scheduled to move to Las Vegas in 2028 and play in a $2 billion, 33,000-person capacity domed stadium on the Strip.
Team jerseys with VEGAS on the back and the No. 28 were given out to fans.
It's doubtful that new stadium will be the launching pad the minor league facility was in the opening game, a four-hour, 14-minute offensive onslaught. The teams combined for 34 hits and 11 home runs.
“Just an all-around crazy game,” Langeliers said. “Both teams battled all night. It was a great baseball game.”
This was the Brewers' second-ever victory after allowing at least 14 runs. Milwaukee defeated Washington by the same score on Aug. 17, 2019. The Brewers now are 2-88 in such games.
For the A's, this was the first time they have been in a game in which both sides scored at least 14 runs since a 17-16 loss at Texas on May 5, 2000.
There was not only a lot of scoring, but plenty of drama as well.
The A's took a two-run lead into the ninth inning, but Andrew Vaughn's two-run double with no outs sent the game to extras.
Milwaukee then scored four runs in the 10th before the A's answered with four of their own, including two-out homers by Nick Kurtz and Jonah Heim.
Brice Turang's fielder's choice grounder with one out in the 12th inning scored Christian Yelich for what turned out to be the winning run, and soon after perhaps the wildest game of the season was over.
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