The A’s took 2 out of 3 from the San Diego Padres this weekend.  Before losing today they had a season high 5-game winning streak and are now 31-36 on the season.

Game 1:  Athletics:  10  Padres:  2

The A’s scored 5 runs in the 1st inning which alone was enough to win the entire game.  Every single player reached base either via hit or walk, except Seth Smith who went 0-4 with 1 strike out.

Travis Blackley was the story of the night, he wasn’t dominant by any means, lasting 6 innings and allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks, but he it was enough for him to collect his first major league win in almost 8 years.

Star of the game:  Cliff Pennington, who was celebrating his 28th birthday that day, was perfect at the plate going 3-3 with 2 RBI, a 2B and 1 walk.

Game 2:  Athletics:  6  Padres:  4

It was Jonny Gomes who saved this game for the A’s on Saturday.  Down by 1 in the 7th Luke Gregerson would throw a wild pitch to bring the tying run home.  Jonny Gomes, who was brought in to pinch hit for Seth Smith, then hit a 3-1 pitch for a 2-run home run to give the A’s the lead.

Tyson Ross took a no-hitter into the 6th inning, but after striking out the first 2 batters in the inning, he then walked Chase Headley and then saw his no-hitter broken up by Carlos Quentin who hit a 2-run home run to left field.  Despite throwing 5.2 innings without allowing a hit, Ross was not sharp.  It took him 95 pitches to get through 6 innings, he only allowed 1 hit, struck out 6, but walked 4.

Star of the game:  Jonny Gomes only saw 1 at-bat on Saturday, but his home run was the reason why the A’s were able to win their 5th straight game.

Game: 3  Padres: 2  Athletics:  1

The A’s offense was pretty anemic today, they combined for 6 hits, 5 walks and only scored 1 run (which came in a 9th inning rally).  Jonny Gomes was responsible for half of their hits, Coco Crisp had 2 and Collin Cowgill was the only other player to collect a hit.

Bartolo Colon looked sharp through his first 2 innings, but after allowing a single in the top of the 3rd and then committing an error to first base he had to be removed from the game due to an injury.   It was later learned that Colon has a right oblique strain and is considered day-to-day.

Star of the game: Pedro Figuerora, who was called up today, came in to replace the injured Colon.  He threw 3 innings and only allowed 1 hit while striking out 2, essentially keeping the A’s in, what seemed like, a hopeless game.

Series Notes:

• Ryan Cook collected his 3rd save of the season on Saturday, he allowed no hits or walks and struck out 2 in the 9th inning.
• After going 6-13 with 4 HR in the last series, Brandon Moss went 2-10 in this series and had 1 HR, a 2B and 2 walks.
• Collin Cowgill was 5-11 in the series with a walk, he also had 3 runs, 1 RBI and 1 stolen base.
• Brandon McCarthy threw a pain free bullpen session today and is expected to pitch on Tuesday night against the Dodgers.
• With the expected return of Brandon McCarthy, Tyson Ross was optioned down to Triple-A earlier today, Pedro Figuerora was called up to replace his roster spot.