Matt Olson took a first-inning approach into a 14th-inning at-bat, and his teammates and a few hundred fans loved him for it.
Olson stepped into the Coliseum batter’s box with Wednesday’s game approaching its sixth hour and didn’t think about being a hero. He thought about making simple contact, keeping his swing in the strike zone and not trying to do too much.
“Perfect,” Jed Lowrie said. “Curveball out over the plate, and he hit it the other way.”
Five hours and 48 minutes after the game began, on the 555th pitch of the day, Olson hit a bases-loaded single over left fielder Nicky Delmonico to complete Oakland’s wild 12-11 victory and sweep of the White Sox.