What is wrong with Cook?

Blue Jays:  3  Athletics:  1

You could say that the two teams on the field in Oakland today looked like two teams who played a 15-inning game the night before.  The offense wasn’t there today, for either teams, but it was the Jays who won in extras this time around.

After last night’s marathon the A’s needed A.J. Griffin to go out and pitch into the game as long as humanly possible, but an injury, which was soon described as shoulder tightness, took him out of the game after just 1.2 innings.  It was up to the tired bullpen to keep the A’s in the game today, which they did, shutting out the Blue Jays for the next 5.1 innings.

For the third consecutive game Ryan Cook came into the game in the 9th to save the game.  He was able to get the first batter to pop up to first base, but allowed a home run to to the very next batter and soon the game was tied.  He then was able to record the next 2 outs, but by then the damage was already done.

The A’s could not win it in the 9th, nor in the 10th when they had the bases loaded with 2 outs and Josh Reddick struck out looking to end the threat.

Jerry Blevins entered the 11th inning, having pitched in the 10th as well, and immediately gave up a single to Edwin Encarnacion, but then got David Cooper to line out to record the first out of the inning. Encarnacion then stole 2nd, but it didn’t really matter because Blevins then walked Rajai Davis.  Jeff Mathis then struck out swinging, and instead of turning a strike em out, throw em out double play, George Kottaras over threw the ball to Brandon Inge and Encarnacion scored on the error.  The following batter, Moises Sierra doubled and Rajai Davis scored, putting the Jays up 3-1.

The A’s went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning, and lost in extras for the first time since May 23rd.

The loss can be blamed on many things, Ryan Cook blowing his second game in a row, Bob Melvin for going with Cook, Jerry Blevins for giving up runs in the 11th or George Kottaras for the error that caused the Jays to score the winning run.  For me, it was the offense that lost the game today for the A’s.  You simply cannot expect the team to win when they only score 1 run.  The team combined for 4 hits today over 11 innings, they did walk 7 times, but were 1-6 with runners in scoring position.

Lines of The Day:

• Jordan Norberto:  3.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO.  Jordan Norberto was exactly what he needed to be today and that’s solid.  The A’s bullpen was taxed after last night’s game and not only was he able to keep the A’s in the game, but he also threw a career high 3.2 innings.
• Pat Neshek: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 SO.  Neshek has made quite the impression on A’s fans so far, after pitching 1.1 clean innings yesterday he came in today and finished off the 6th for Noberto and pitched a solid 7th inning.

Ugly Lines of the Day:  

• A’s Offense:  35 AB, 4 H, 1 R, 7 BB, 10 SO.  The offense was downright ugly today.  The only run scored was an RBI double by Derek Norris in the second inning.
• Ryan Cook:  1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 HR.  Ryan Cook has not been good as of late, having blown 4 saves in his last 6 appearances.  Over his last 10 appearances he has allowed 10 hits, 7 earned runs and 2 walks over 10 innings.  It is not clear what Bob Melvin will do at this point, but it may be time for a demotion for Cook.

A’s Extras:

• After leaving the game in the second inning with shoulder tightness, A.J. Griffin had a MRI which turned out clean.  This is very good news for Griffin and the A’s and for now it is not known if he will need a trip to the DL.
• Yoenis Cespedes was not in the lineup tonight because of the wrist sprain he suffered in last’s night game.  He did come in and pinch run for Carter in the bottom of the ninth, but was replaced by Brandon Moss in the lineup after the inning ended.  Again, more good news for the A’s.
• It comes to no surprise that Bob Melvin is expecting help for the bullpen tomorrow.  It is not known who will be called up, but Jim Miller, Evan Scribner, Pedro Figueroa and Tyson Ross are all possibilities.