A’s journeyman Vogt unlikely hero

OAKLAND, CALIF.— Stephen Vogt triumphantly raised his right arm as he took off for first and did it again with a celebratory whipped cream pie covering his face. Then, once more for the cheering crowd as he left the field following another improbable Oakland walkoff win.

No doubt Vogt will cherish that moment. Thanks to him and fellow rookie Sonny Gray, the Athletics headed to Detroit tied with the Tigers at one win apiece in their best-of-five AL division series after Vogt’s game-winning hit in a 1-0 victory Saturday night.

This spring, the catcher sat for six days in Durham, N.C., wondering about his baseball future. He didn’t make the Rays’ opening-day roster and figured to start the season there at Triple-A.

A pennant race, let alone the post-season, was never even a thought. “Just sitting and waiting,” Vogt recalled. Six months on, he’s a playoff star. Vogt left the Tampa Bay organization for the Bay Area on April 5, traded back home to his native California.

And there he was Saturday night against one of baseball’s best pitchers. After strik- ing out twice against Justin Verlander, Vogt fouled off seven pitches in a 10-pitch at-bat that ended the seventh. His next time up in the ninth, he lined a basesloaded single into left-centre to win it.

“You come up bases loaded, nobody out, and that’s what you dream of. Look for something out over the plate, stay in the middle of the field, just fortunate to come through,” Vogt said.

A minor league journeyman who turns 29 next month, Vogt keeps delivering with his bat and his arm. On Saturday, his perfect throw to second retired Jose Iglesias for an inning-ending double play.

“First career post-season, hits a walkoff for the first win of the playoff series,” said A’s right fielder Josh Reddick. “He’s had some great at-bats . . . but to get that first one out of the way in a walkoff fashion, it says something. This’ll be a great confidence booster for him.”