We’re going to the Giants-A’s game this afternoon.

Shaping up as a good matchup. The Giants have been red-hot of late, and the A’s have been giving them a run for their money in the first two games of this series.

On Friday, the A’s gave up five runs in the first inning but scraped their way back into the game and were down 6-4 in the bottom of the ninth with the tying run at bat, but the Giants’ pitching held. Last night the A’s took a four-run lead into the eighth inning, gave up four runs (including a towering 3-run homer) and went into extra innings, and won it in the bottom of the 10th.

Yesterday’s crowd was the largest ever for an A’s game at the Oakland coliseum. Should be a similar crowd today.

Seems to me baseball teams would make a lot more money if they played all their games on weekends against crosstown rivals.

The Bay Area’s a great place to be a baseball fan. The teams are good almost every year, and the A’s are almost always a touch better than the Giants despite having a far lower payroll and no Barry Bondsesque superstars. (Hunky pitcher Barry Zito is almost a superstar, though if he keeps giving up five runs in the first like he did Friday he’ll have to start looking into that career in broadcasting that awaits him.)

Anyway, should be a fun (if crowded) day at the park. I’m taking my digicam and will post pics tonight.