There are a few cities in the country where there are two baseball teams. New York has the Mets and Yankees, there are the Cubs and the White Sox in Chicago, and in the Bay area, we have the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics. Ok, so that’s not strictly a city, but two different counties, but they are connected by public transport, the BART. Once season, maybe, this affords the chance to do a different sort of double header; when one team plays in the afternoon, and one in the evening, you can go to one game, and then cross the bay,  and go to the other.

So this is what we did yesterday – lunchtime game in San Francisco, vs the Washington Nationals, and the evening in Oakland, against the Kansas City Royals. Glamorous? No, but it is two games in two counties in one day. And this, my friends, is our story…

12pm Meet up at Red’s Java House on the waterfront for pregame beers. The sun is out, cold PBRs are $1.75, and things are looking good.

12.55pm We make it into AT+T park. We’ve already missed the Giants leaving the bases loaded in the first inning; it looks as if they’re quite capable of getting on with it without us. We’re sitting in the bleachers, seemingly with every school kid in the Bay Area. It’s a bit weird, and a bit screechy.

1.05pm Barry Zito is continuing his nice run of pitching. Go Barry! We have another beer. Notice a couple of Giants fans at the front holding orange ‘sweep’ brooms. Cmon, it’s the Nationals, right?

1.40pm It’s 0-0 after four innings. Giants’ games are pretty dull.

1.45pm  Uh oh. Zito’s just given up a run, on an error and an infield hit. Not a good sign.

2.30pm Zito’s left the game with two runners on, and Merkin Valdez has let them score. Barry’s on the hook for four runs, in 6 1/3 innings. Not a bad outing, but it looks as if the run of four wins in a row when he starts is going to end.

3.15pm Pat Misch is really bad at pitching. There’s a round of applause for Ryan Zimmerman as he grounds out, thus ending his thirty game hitting streak. Pretty classy, San Francisco. It’s 7-2 Nationals, middle of the ninth, and it’s time for us to go and find some food before we go to Oakland.

4pm Hotel Utah. Beers, veggie burgers, fries, jukebox. We’re refueling for the next leg.Looks like the Giants managed to get a run back in the ninth, but it still finished 7-3.

5.15pm A quick stop at a liquor store, and then aboard BART to the Oakland and Alameda County Coliseum.

6pm Beers in the parking lot, the sun is starting to set, it is beautiful. This is really hard to beat.

7.15pm $2 Wednesday tickets are really not so bad. The stadium is a lot more empty than AT+T Park, but people are actually talking about baseball. The group behind us is chatting about the A’s minor league system, something that I’ve never heard at a Giants game. Could be because the gap between the A’s and their AAA system is a very slight one, so it’s of greater concern to Oakland fans.

7.30pm Beer is slightly cheaper here, too. Josh Outman is looking good, touching 95mph on the in stadium speed gun. He’s given up one run so far – can the A’s offence come through?
8pm. Hm. Still no offence. Still, the game is going quickly.

8.20pm Oh, cmon.

8.33pm RUNS!! Bottom of the sixth, it’s Giambi with a double of the wall, then a Jack Cust sac fly. 2-1 A’s! Outman is done for the day, and Michael Wuertz is in. His slider is a work of beauty. Wow.

9.08pm MORE RUNS!! Matt Holliday beats out an infield hit with in a bases loaded, two out situation, bringing in one. Not exactly what the A’s signed him for, but they’ll take it. Then Jack Cust hits a bases clearing double, which I could have sworn was going all the way. High Fives everywhere, the A’s are 7-1 up, and looking like they’re going to sweep a series. For the first time this year! PLAYOFFS! Sorry, got a little carried away there.

9.43pm The A’s bullpen closes it out for a 7-2 win over KC, and a 2-0 series win. It’s been a long day, but we’re happy, only a little drunk, and looking forward to the Tigers on Friday…