The Oakland A's fell 3-0 to the Detroit Tigers in the deciding fifth game of the American League Division Series Thursday, ending the season in an all too familiar manner.
As mostly disappointed fans streamed out of the sold-out O.co Coliseum tonight, longtime A's supporter Charlie Kahsen, 72, said he was still in good spirits.
Although the A's playoff run ended tonight, Kahsen, a Walnut Creek resident, said he's enjoyed watching his team compete for the past 30 years.
"They give the fans a good time," he said, still smiling despite the loss. "They did the best they could do."
He stood next to his grandson, Pleasanton resident Jonathan Pearce, 13.
Kahsen had surprised Jonathan this afternoon when he picked him up at school with tickets to the do-or-die game that decided which team would advance to the American League Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox.
Jonathan was also grinning and said he was happy he got to attend the game. He said his eighth-grade classmates would be envious he had seen the final A's game of the season. If he had to pick one player as his favorite he said he would chose center fielder Coco Crisp.
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Crisp, like many Oakland batters tonight, could not muster a hit against Detroit pitching ace Justin Verlander, who pitched eight shutout innings and held the A's to only two hits. Shortstop Jed Lowrie added a hit against relief pitcher Joaquin Benoit but it was not enough to salvage the A's season.
A shutout loss to Verlander was a scenario that gave many A's fans déjà vu -- Verlander pitched the Tigers to a victory against Oakland in game 5 of the ALDS last year when the Tigers beat the A's 6-0. The Tigers went on to lose the World Series to the San Francisco Giants.
Frank and Anita Gonzales, of Fremont, were dismayed over the loss but Anita noted tonight's "crowd was awesome" and she was glad she had come out to the game.
She said she was disappointed about the missed opportunity. "I didn't want it to end so soon," she said.
Her husband Frank, a Giants fan who supports his wife's team, said, "I feel for the A's fans."
