For the first time ever, two players from the Valley Isle were competing on the same major-league field: Center fielder Shane Victorino for the Philadelphia Phillies and catcher Kurt Suzuki for the hometown Athletics.
For those keeping track of such things, you could say that Victorino enjoyed the better night individually but Suzuki enjoyed the fruits of victory.
Victorino went two-for-four, beating out a pair of infield hits, scored a run and stole a base at the expense of Suzuki. It was Victorino's 18th theft of the season, ranking him sixth in the National League in that category.
But Victorino's efforts went for naught as Oakland capitalized on Emil Brown's three-run homer in the seventh off the very veteran Jaime Moyer, lifting the A's to a 5-2 win in the opener of a three-game inter-league series.
Suzuki contributed to Oakland's cause by leading the bottom of the first with a single in four at-bats. He also suffered his third passed ball of the year.
Despite the loss, Philly maintained its one-game lead in the NL East thanks to Tampa Bay's 6-4 win over second-place Florida. Oakland, meantime, remained five back in the AL West as the division-leading Angels beat Washington 8-3.
The Phillies-Athletics series continues today and concludes tomorrow.
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