If you want to know why I'm less than impressed with Graham Godfrey: Brendan Ryan hit a homer in this game.

On the other hand, so did Eric Sogard, so maybe it was just that kind of night. Or maybe Blake Beavan is, as the A's announcers intimated before the game started, exactly as mediocre as Godfrey, with his random white guy low-90s fastball and whatever yakker.

Jemile Weeks put the A's in some trouble in the fifth with a wild backhand toss to second to attempt to start a double play rather than taking the sure throw for one out at either base, but Godfrey didn't need to give up a ripped double to Ichiro, the very next batter. Godfrey also did not need to make an error on an easy grounder right back to him by Justin Smoak -- had he fielded the ball cleanly, he'd have had Dustin Ackley dead to rights at home plate. Instead, he bobbled it and couldn't get the handle, leaving him with just a play at first, and leaving the A's with what would turn out to be an insurmountable two-run deficit.

Perhaps "what would turn out to be" was an unnecessary phrase. Just about every two-run deficit is insurmountable for the A's, because Eric Sogard has only so many three-run jacks in his bat. Or his wand. However you're going to call it.

What is Sogard's patronus, anyway?