OAKLAND -- Thursday's series opener against the Blue Jays featured one of the more bizarre replay reviews to date, the outcome of which prompted the A's to play the game under protest.It didn't matter as Oakland won the game, 4-1, on the shoulders of a sharp performance by Sonny Gray.Gray held the Jays to one run on four hits with five strikeouts and three walks over seven frames, with Toronto's only run scoring as a result of the overturned call in the second inning. 
The A's took the lead back in the bottom half, plating two runs against knuckleballer R.A. Dickey -- the first on a bloop double by Nate Freiman, and the second on a passed ball that brought home Stephen Vogt.Oakland had initially fallen behind in the top of the second when Anthony Gose hit a ground ball to Freiman with the bases loaded and one out. The first baseman attempted to tag baserunner Munenori Kawasaki, but after the umpire ruled Freiman missed the tag, he threw home for a force out.Jays manager John Gibbons challenged the ruling that Freiman had missed the tag. It was ultimately determined that Freiman had in fact tagged Kawasaki, and that in turn Edwin Encarnacion was safe at home because Vogt failed to tag him.A's manager Bob Melvin proceeded to request that the game be played under protest.Dickey gave the A's fits between the third and seventh innings, but Oakland added two insurance runs off him in the eighth on John Jaso's RBI double and Alberto Callaspo's sacrifice fly.Dan Otero and Sean Doolittle shut the door with scoreless frames in the eighth and ninth, respectively.The last time Oakland had played a game under protest was 11 years ago to the day -- against the Mariners, whom Melvin was managing at the time.Aaron Leibowitz / MLB.com
The A's took the lead back in the bottom half, plating two runs against knuckleballer R.A. Dickey -- the first on a bloop double by Nate Freiman, and the second on a passed ball that brought home Stephen Vogt.Oakland had initially fallen behind in the top of the second when Anthony Gose hit a ground ball to Freiman with the bases loaded and one out. The first baseman attempted to tag baserunner Munenori Kawasaki, but after the umpire ruled Freiman missed the tag, he threw home for a force out.Jays manager John Gibbons challenged the ruling that Freiman had missed the tag. It was ultimately determined that Freiman had in fact tagged Kawasaki, and that in turn Edwin Encarnacion was safe at home because Vogt failed to tag him.A's manager Bob Melvin proceeded to request that the game be played under protest.Dickey gave the A's fits between the third and seventh innings, but Oakland added two insurance runs off him in the eighth on John Jaso's RBI double and Alberto Callaspo's sacrifice fly.Dan Otero and Sean Doolittle shut the door with scoreless frames in the eighth and ninth, respectively.The last time Oakland had played a game under protest was 11 years ago to the day -- against the Mariners, whom Melvin was managing at the time.Aaron Leibowitz / MLB.com
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