OAKLAND, Calif. _ Four months without meaningful baseball came to an end Friday night at the Coliseum. There was no crowd to hype the home team, though the hype man still shouted his prompts over the speakers. Pregame pomp and celebration was replaced by protest, reflection and some solitude.
And then, history was made late in the night. For the first time this season, an extra inning game was played with a runner placed on second to start the 10th. Matt Olson hit a grand slam walk-off home run with the bases loaded in the 10th inning, giving the A's a 7-3 win to open the season.
Here are some more observations.
