A’s Can Only Watch as the Angels’ Harvey Unleashes His Forkball

OAKLAND —  It was the best situation the 44,548 fans in the Oakland Coliseum could have hoped for Monday night.

Jose Canseco was at bat. Their team trailed the Angels by just a run, 5-4, in the bottom of the ninth inning. And Bryan Harvey, the Angels’ often brilliant, but lately erratic relief pitcher, was on the mound.

Canseco had missed 88 games, the entire first half of the season, with an injured left wrist. But he was now in sound shape. After all, he came into the game having hit home runs in three consecutive games and had five in his first nine since returning to the lineup.

Moreover, Harvey appeared to be in yet another shaky mode. His first three pitches to Canseco sailed wide. This was shades of a recent stretch where Harvey walked at least one batter in eight of nine outings.

Harvey’s long, slow strolls around the mound seemed to signal a sense of impending doom for the Angels.

They had forged ahead on solo home runs by Chili Davis in the seventh and Jack Howell in the eighth. They had seen their 5-3 lead cut to 5-4 on an RBI single by Mark McGwire in the eighth.

And now the Angels were counting on Harvey, who had come in to get the final out in the eighth, to put the clamps on Oakland’s hitters in the ninth.

Harvey battled back, to force a three-two count. And he froze Canseco with a wicked forkball that danced inside. Strike three.

Canseco looked at six Harvey pitches without swinging and there was one out.

But Harvey was not out of trouble yet. Terry Steinbach, hitting .317, stepped up next. And Harvey walked him on four pitches.

Next came Tony Phillips and Harvey struck out the second baseman with a forkball for the second out.

Oakland Manager Tony La Russa then sent Ron Hassey up to pinch-hit for Mike Gallego. It was an interesting move because Gallego had a single and a double that went in-and-out of right fielder Tony Armas’ glove, the A’s only extra-base hit.

The right-handed Harvey struck out Hassey with yet another forkball. Like the others, Hassey took it. Unlike the others, Hassey actually swung at a pitch, managing to foul two off.

In the ninth, Harvey faced four batters and got three strikeouts. Three called-looking strikeouts. And all with the forkball, a tough pitch to get over for a strike as Harvey well knows.

“It was the best forkball I had all season right there,” Harvey said. “It was working well.”

Harvey picked up his 13th save of the season, preserving a 5-4 victory in Game 1 of an important three-game series with Oakland.

With his other pitches floating out of the strike zone, Harvey and catcher Lance Parrish stuck with the forkball.

They were counting on Canseco to look for a fastball with a three-two count.

“I tricked him a little bit and luckily it worked,” Harvey said. “With a guy like Canseco, he’s looking for a fastball. He can change the game with one swing of the bat.”

“Tonight, I felt comfortable with the forkball,” Harvey said. “I was keeping it down and throwing it for strikes.”

The other pitches weren’t working, so why not stick with the forkball?

“Everything’s not going to be perfect,” Manager Doug Rader said. “Bryan got the four outs we needed in the ninth (including the last out in the eighth). So he got three balls on a few people and walked a guy. That’s just Bryan.”