A's escape jam with wacky, replay-aided double play

OAKLAND -- A nutty first inning unraveled at the O.co Coliseum on Thursday afternoon, with the A's ending the frame with your not-so-typical 5-4-2-5-2-6 double play against the Rangers.

It wasn't ruled as such without a replay review, though, magnifying the chaos.

The Rangers, who had already scored three runs against A's starter Kendall Graveman, had Prince Fielder on third and Ryan Rua on first when Elvis Andrus hit a sharp grounder to Brett Lawrie. The A's third baseman quickly threw to second baseman Eric Sogard, who decided to throw home rather than first after getting pulled off the base. Fielder, though caught in a rundown, was eventually called out -- yet Rua was declared safe at second, leading to a replay.

The replay official overturned the ruling and determined that Sogard indeed had possession of the ball while in contact with the bag prior to Rua's arrival. The double play ruling ended the inning.