Beale to host tourney Friday

The Beale Military Liaison Council will host the 10th annual Patriotic Golf Tournament on Friday at Peach Tree Golf & Country Club in Linda.

The charitable tournament will benefit the men and women of Beale Air Force Base, and the cost is $175 per golfer.

Registration begins at 9:30 a.m., opening ceremonies will be at 11:45 a.m. and a shotgun start is set for noon.

Lunch will be available, and an awards presentation and dinner is set for 5:15 p.m.

For more information, call 218-2121 or send an email to bmlc@gmail.com.

–Appeal-democrat

OAKLAND – It’s not often you see an entire team come out of the dugout and await a middle reliever for a hero’s welcome, but that was the scene at the Coliseum when Ryan Buchter walked back to the A’s dugout after retiring Brett Gardner to end a threat the seventh. The scene repeated itself when Jeurys Familia struck out Gary Sánchez to end a threat in the eighth.

The A’s (83-56) always seem to amp up their play when the Yankees (86-52) come to town, but there’s something extra about this September matchup. Playing exactly one month before the Oct. 3 American League wild card game, which could feature both clubs fighting for a spot in the ALDS, the A’s came away on top 6-3 in Monday’s victory over the Yankees, pulling within 3 1/2 games of New York for the top wild card spot with 23 remaining.

“It’s nice to see the Coliseum banging like it was today,” A’s catcher Jonathan Lucroy said. “It’s good for the young guys to get a taste of that and get a feel for what the playoffs are like. That’s what it’s gonna be like, probably more. It’s a good tune up going into the playoffs, if and when we do make it.”

Lucroy, 32, already knows the experience. He played in the NL wild card game last year as a member of the Colorado Rockies team that went into Arizona and lost to the Diamondbacks. Lucroy knows it’s never easy to play road playoff game and would much rather just catch the Houston Astros, whom the A’s trail by 2 1/2 games as of Monday night for the division lead.

But should the A’s find themselves playing under the bright lights at Yankee Stadium come October, the message is being sent – they’re not afraid.

“It’s tough to go into an opposing city and play in their home. It’s real loud and just oneand-done. Crazy,” Lucroy said. “We’re just sending a message to not only them, but the whole league that we’re coming after it and we want it.”

It truly did feel like a glimpse into the playoffs. The Coliseum was packed with 40,546 fans – a large portion of which were sporting the famous Yankee pinstripes. Every pitch mattered – like Buchter’s 3-1 fastball to Gardner that induced a fly out that ended the seventh and stranded two runners to preserve a three-run lead, or Familia’s 2-2 slider he got Sánchez to swing through to get himself out of the jam he created for himself with two runners on in the eighth.

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